Blog Archives
Reflections
This past week’s blizzard event is one that will forever be etched in our memories. We truly have so much for which to be thankful! Grateful for the way neighbors and others checked in on each other and helped in the midst of power outages. Grateful for all the linemen, city and county road crews, and first responders! Many shared with me stories from 1976 and there will no doubt be many stories shared for decades to come from this storm too. Continuing in prayer for those without power and for all the linemen continuing to restore power.
Last week I shared a column on Celebrating Ag Week. Strong agriculture and a strong ag economy are incredibly important as a backbone to any nation.
As an Extension Educator, my role has been to serve Nebraskans to the best of my ability in answering questions and sharing research-based information. I’ve also shared my observations, particularly when it comes to what I’m seeing in the field and when research doesn’t yet exist.
Throughout my nearly 21-year career, plenty of controversial issues have been faced with the people I serve. I’ve sought to listen to all sides of issues, serve as a moderator at meetings, and share what I hear from both sides and share the research, when it was available. For the past six months, I’ve been asked to bring in groups and moderate discussions on industrial scale solar, but I have refused these requests.
There is a meeting on Monday, March 31st from 7-8 p.m. at the Holthus Convention Center in York. You can also RSVP for a zoom link at this website: https://neconserve.org/news-events/event-calendar.html/event/2025/03/31/the-changing-landscape-of-renewable-energy-in-nebraska/519078. It’s being hosted by Conservation Nebraska and is titled, “The Changing Landscape of Renewable Energy in Nebraska”. My colleague John Hay, Extension Educator specializing in energy, renewable energy and biofuels will be the main speaker. John is a great colleague and friend of mine. He does a great job of knowing the research and answering questions. I also wish to be very clear that locally, as a Nebraska Extension Educator, I’m not involved with this meeting, nor am I partnering on it. I plan to attend.
As your local Extension Educator, I’ve listened to the stories of why people chose to sign leases and chose not to, listened to research and debate…and I’ve shared both perspectives and other information in news columns. I can appreciate the “why’s” on both sides and I have friends and acquaintances on both sides. Ultimately, I serve you all. But since last summer, I’ve been quiet on this issue. In addition to my career as an Extension Educator, I’m also human.
I am against utility scale solar farms removing agricultural ground from production. Solar can have a variety of uses, including in ag, but I’m against replacing farm ground with thousands of acres of solar panels for industrial scale solar. It has eaten at me to serve as your agricultural Extension Educator and not feel I could take a stand, but I can’t consciously do that any longer. I think about the potential impacts this could have on all of York/Fillmore County ag and surrounding counties in the future…the precedent set. I agree with the York County Zoning Committee’s setbacks that have been proposed. I also believe landowners have the right to choose what they do with their land. It’s difficult when it involves removing farm ground from production at this scale in a very strong Ag County such as York County. What tears me up the most are the damaged relationships as a result of this issue. Praying for wisdom for those making decisions, for the outcome, and that ultimately, relationships can one day be restored.
3/13/22
Vegetative Management Considerations: This week’s article is co-written by John Hay, Extension Energy Educator and myself. Vegetative management is an important part of solar. The land below the solar panels will need to be maintained in some way. Lately, more people are looking at ways to complement vegetative management with solar to ease the land use conflict and bring more value to the land beneath solar production.
We asked several questions of the EDF Renewable representatives the night of the public informational forum. The plan from them for the time being appeared to be focused on mowing the grass below the solar panels. There seemed to be some openness to learning more about options beyond mowed grass. From the EDF K-Junction FAQ site, there is a link to a news article explaining how solar, cattle, and crops can work together: https://www.edf-re.com/project/k-junction-solar/faq/.
Regardless of what the vegetation is, should the project go through, someone will need to manage the vegetation. We were told that often 5-6 outside contractors are hired. We suggested should some local people currently be interested in this, it could provide an opportunity for them to obtain additional income or off-set a very small portion of the income lost in the ag community beyond landowners.
Grazing Options: The reality of cattle grazing is not good with solar unless the panels are elevated to a height of at least 7’ and conduit is buried underground. Sheep and free-range chickens could be options. We currently don’t have that scale of sheep/free-range chicken production in the County area. It potentially could be another income source should the project go through and a few choose to pursue this. There is an American Solar Grazing Association which is member-driven and members ask questions, conduct research, and share questions/answers with each other: https://solargrazing.org/.
Agrivoltaics is the growing of harvestable crops below the solar panels. The crops wouldn’t include traditional corn and soybeans. They could include different grasses for grazing, alfalfa, and small equipment haying (depending on panel height and spacing). They could include pollinator species. Small acres (1-10 acres or so per quarter) could include specialty crops such as hops, grapes, vegetables, fruits, woody florals. For those situations, it would entail elevating the solar panels. There’s been some research on incorporating different types of vegetable and flower production in how the plants are arranged for dealing with sun/shade at different times of the day. This resource shares more about agrivoltaics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7mN1ks0hyUneed.
Wells: There’s been a number of concerns about the wells on these irrigated pieces of land. Specific questions regarding this can be directed to the NRD. Grazing and/or use for harvestable crops under the solar array could necessitate a well.
Vegetative Screenings are the use of plants as a screen to obstruct the view of the solar panels. At the public informational meeting, we were told that landowners and neighbors would need to request this. This is something that can be written into contracts.
The above options/considerations require cooperation of the solar developer and may need changes in system design regarding the solar panel height and the ability for people to enter the solar field. Solar farms are fenced and have limited access due to electrical risk. These risks must be addressed before agrivoltaic or grazing options are possible. For vegetative management regarding vegetative screenings, grass or pollinator species, should the project move forward, we’d recommend they be established prior to construction to aid in success of their establishment.
Farm Base Acres: In talking with Kathy Anderson with the State FSA office, it’s hard to know exactly what will happen to base acres depending on how the contracts are written. It’s a possibility of a permanent loss of base acres, ultimately dependent upon how many acres of cropland there is and how many base acres were assigned to each farm. Each situation will be farm by farm. If the farm had full base (80 ac crop ground and 80 ac base), and 60 acres were being used for solar, 60 base acres of solar would be removed from that total leaving 20 base acres. If there isn’t full base (80 ac crop ground and 60 acres of base), the gap of 20 “free acres” would be put towards the acres in solar and the base would be reduced to 20 acres. If the ground was in CRP, contracts with solar are not allowed. Thus, one needs to ask the company to pay back the CRP contract if they want a CRP parcel.
JenResources 