To the editor,

A letter to Ms. Brooke Rollins, Secretary U.S. Department of Agriculture:

We write to applaud the recent announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to no longer fund industrial solar projects on productive farmland with taxpayer dollars. We ask that the USDA take this one step further and prohibit all solar projects from being constructed on productive farmland in key farming states like Wisconsin.

Our nation’s land and food supply are constantly threatened by the increase in massive solar farms. Not only do they occupy prime farmland and take good, rich soil out of production, solar farms can cause irreparable harm to the farmland nearby. Common construction practices, such as soil compaction and topsoil removal can lead to significant wind and water erosion, severely damaging soil health and causing major runoff. Extreme weather, such as hailstorms, heavy winds, and tornadoes, which are common in Wisconsin, can cause solar panels to break, scattering harmful metals and plastics onto nearby soil, crops, and wildlife.

Solar projects can also lead to a decrease in nearby property values. Simply put, nobody wants to buy a home near rows and rows of panels on beautiful farmland. Furthermore, solar companies can outbuy farmers, especially when solar companies are subsidized to do so, by offering rural farmers a significant amount of money to convert their land out of production.

While solar energy has its benefits, the risk of occupying America’s best cropland that feeds and fuels the country is far too great. That is why we urge the USDA to take their actions even further and construct a plan that removes these solar projects on prime farmland out of construction altogether.

We recommend the USDA reprioritize its solar energy focus to: (1) rooftop solar projects; (2) parking lot solar projects, where solar panels act as car canopies; or (3) brownfield solar projects, where solar panels are installed on abandoned or contaminated land. These types of projects, often utilized in urban areas, offer a common-sense compromise to preserve America’s farmland.

Rep. Rob Kreibich, Assembly Commerce Committee Chair

Rep. Travis Tranel, Assembly Agriculture Committee Chair