Data-Driven

The Real Story on Farmland

SSRNY claims solar threatens "prime agricultural land." The data shows the opposite: solar is a lifeline for struggling farms.

Their Claim

"Solar farms destroy prime agricultural land and threaten our farming heritage."

The Reality

Solar accounts for 0.5% of farmland loss. NY lost 14% of farms in 10 years—from economics, not solar. Solar lets farmers keep their land.

The Numbers Are Clear

14%
NY farms lost (2012-2022)
9%
NY farmland lost (2012-2022)
0.5%
Farmland loss from solar
"Solar development accounted for approximately 0.5 percent of farmland lost between 2017 and 2022." — NY State Comptroller, November 2024

What's Actually Killing Farms

The NY Farm Bureau called the 2012-2022 decline the "steepest decline in the past three decades." What's driving it?

  • Aging farmers, no successors: Average farmer age keeps rising. Kids don't want to farm.
  • Economic pressure: Input costs rise while commodity prices stay flat.
  • Estate sales: When farmers die or retire, land sells to developers or becomes estates.
  • Property taxes: Rising assessments make farming uneconomical.
  • Climate impacts: Unpredictable weather, new pests, water stress.

None of these have anything to do with solar. They've been happening for decades.

Solar Actually Helps Farmers

Here's what solar opponents don't tell you:

Stable Income

Solar leases provide guaranteed payments for 25-30 years. Farming income is volatile—one bad season can destroy a family. Solar provides a floor.

Land Preservation

Solar keeps land in agricultural zoning. The panels come down in 30 years, and the land is intact—often in better condition than when it started (no fertilizers, no tilling, native grasses).

Reversibility

Solar is one of the most reversible land uses. Pull up the poles, remove the panels, and the land is farmable again. Try that with a subdivision or strip mall.

Agrivoltaics: Farming and Solar Together

Modern solar projects increasingly use agrivoltaics—combining agriculture with solar panels:

  • Sheep grazing under and around panels (natural vegetation management)
  • Pollinator farming with native wildflowers and grasses
  • Cattle and crops can continue on portions of the property

Shepherd's Run has committed to an agrivoltaics integration plan. The land doesn't stop being agricultural—it becomes dual-use.

The Alternative Is Worse

When farms fail without solar income, what happens to the land?

  • Sold for residential development (permanent)
  • Converted to estates (permanent)
  • Left fallow and neglected
  • Subdivided and sold off

Compare the Land Uses

Factor Solar Farm Residential Dev Fallow Land
Reversible? Yes (30 years) No Yes
Keeps ag zoning? Yes No Maybe
Farmer income? Yes (lease) One-time sale None
Soil health? Preserved/improved Destroyed Varies
Water impact? Minimal High (impervious) Low

The Hypocrisy

Many of the loudest anti-solar voices live on former farmland. The estates, the weekend homes, the "rural character" they want to protect—much of it was converted from working farms decades ago.

When a farmer's grandkid sells the family land to become a gentleman's estate, that's fine. When a farmer leases to solar to stay solvent, suddenly it's "destroying agricultural heritage"?

What Farmers Actually Think

Farmers are choosing to lease to solar because:

  • They need the income to survive
  • They can't find anyone to buy or work the land
  • They want to keep the land in the family without bankruptcy
  • They understand solar is temporary and land is preserved

SSRNY doesn't speak for farmers. They speak for people who want the aesthetic of farmland without supporting the people who own it.

The Bottom Line

Solar isn't killing farms. Economics is. Solar is one of the few things giving farmers a viable path to keep their land instead of selling to developers.

If you care about farmland preservation, support policies that help farmers survive—including the option to lease for solar.

Sources

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