With our dairy market going through some drastic changes, small and medium-sized farms are planting a new crop: solar panels. Why the heck would they do that? The short answer? Money. The long answer: a bunch of other stuff, too.
Here’s Five Fast Facts about Farm Solar Panels:
- ☀️Green Light - Since 2018, one farmer in Manitowoc County is leasing a third of his land to an energy company to host solar panels. Other farmers with similarly-sized operations are following suit and they’re creating energy that powers 45,000 homes in the state. Maybe even yours!
- 💚Getting Green - Those farmers say that leasing their land provides financial stability in the face of changing milk prices or insane weather.
- 📗Lots of Green - One estimate said these leases can bring landowners THREE TIMES their usual income for that land.
- 🥬Green Acres - Other farmers are using solar panels to power up to 80% of their operation.
- 💚Green With Envy - Not everyone’s happy with the idea, with some neighbors saying it ruins the natural beauty of the countryside and it might not be sustainable when bad weather comes around.
🔥Bottom line: There are worse ways to make money. Regardless of how you feel about renewable energy (love it or HATE it) these farmers are doing what they need to keep their farms, many of them generational operations, running long term.
What do you think of this strategy?
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