This year has been rough for American farmers and their communities. Climate impacts are rising, new tariffs are closing access to global markets, inflation is pushing up costs, immigration crackdowns have frightened workers away, and the U.S. federal government no longer offers support for low-cost solar energy to run farm operations. There are no easy solutions, but a new business partnership called Farmers Powering Communities seeks provide some measure of relief by connecting farmers with opportunities to lease their land for community solar projects.
Preserving the last remaining farms in the U.S.
The cornerstone of Farmers Powering Communities is the land preservation organization American Farmland Trust, which launched in 1980 as conservationists became alarmed about the loss of farms to real estate development.
Farm loss has been an ongoing concern in the United States. The number of farms dropped by 66 percent from 1950 to 2024, while the number of farmed acres dropped 27 percent, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.
The figures are derived from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Census along with USDA estimates of land in agricultural use. The Ag Census takes place every five years, counting every farm reporting $1,000 or more in sales of farm products. The last Census was published in 2022, and the data show that between 2017 and 2022 alone, 7 percent of farmers in the U.S. — accounting for more than 140,000 farms — closed for business.
A 2024 study from Ohio State University and the University of Illinois also analyzed Ag Census data to draw attention to the impact of federal policies on U.S. farm loss, specifically the 1996 Farm Bill. The law removed previous requirements for agricultural use, including pastures. The researchers found that the U.S. lost 8 percent of its farmland after the Farm Bill passed, the majority of which consisted of pasturelands, as farmers were no longer compelled to keep them in order to receive federal subsidies.
Farm bankruptcies are another measure of stress leading to the loss of farmland. Researchers at the University of Arkansas raised the alarm in July. Their state saw a spike in bankruptcies between last year and the first quarter of 2025, with some farmers liquidated under Chapter 7 while others re-organized their debt payments under Chapter 12, which was introduced in 1986 to help family farmers stay in business.
How the community solar movement can help
Community solar projects will not stop the bleeding, but they can offer some relief to farmers in financial distress. These projects include relatively small solar arrays that feed into local distribution grids. Operating on a subscription basis, community solar projects allow electricity ratepayers in nearby areas to purchase locally-produced solar power, even if they don’t have the means or desire to install solar panels on their own property.
The first community solar project on record in the U.S. was installed in 2006 in Washington state, at a time when the cost of solar power was relatively high. Costs have fallen substantially since then. Today, subscribers typically save money on their utility bills. A total of 43 states and Washington, D.C. had community solar projects as of December 2024, reflecting the growing popularity of the movement.
In recent years, businesses and commercial property owners are also breaking into the community solar space, attracted by the opportunity to earn revenue by leasing their roofs or unused parts of their grounds for solar arrays. Remediated land that is unsuitable for other forms of development, such as decommissioned landfills, can also host community solar — helping property owners make income from land that is otherwise unusable and earn good will by helping to bring local electricity rates down.
Farmers also have a place in the community solar movement. In addition to earning lease revenue, they can gain additional benefits by applying agrivoltaic principles that enable the cultivation of pollinator habitats, grazing lands, and shade-tolerant crops between the solar panels.
In other words: Agrivoltaics allows farmers to keep farming while earning money from solar, helping to conserve farmland for future use. Unlike other forms of development, ground-mounted solar arrays require minimal surface disruption and can be removed after a contract period expires.
Connecting farmers and communities
Farmers Powering Communities was established with the aim of recruiting more farmers to host community solar projects that maximize the benefits for the farmer as well as local ratepayers. It launched last week as a partnership between the American Farmland Trust, the Kentucky-based firm Edelen Renewables, and Reactivate, a renewable energy company founded by the leading power generation developer Invenergy and the credit firm Lafayette Square.
The partners aim to build on the solar lease model to engage farmers and ranchers in the full benefits of a community solar project in their area. They plan to focus on solar projects that benefit rural and working-class communities where households, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations need relief from high utility rates, residents need jobs, and public services need new tax revenue.
The three partners plan to apply the Smart Solar principles developed by American Farmland Trust — which prioritize the use of existing structures and marginal land for solar sites, reserving prime land for agriculture. The principles also integrate agrivoltaic practices that stimulate soil regeneration while making room for other farming activities.
“Smart Solar means directing solar development to where it has the least negative impact on land well-suited for farming while protecting soil health, maintaining opportunities for farming, and ensuring equitable community benefits,” the American Farmland Trust explains
Reactivate says the partnership will accelerate solar deployment in rural areas while enabling the farmers of today to carry on the legacies of previous generations on the same land, including support for their local communities.
“We know many farmers have maintained their land for generations. As owners of our energy projects, we understand long-term stewardship and the importance of maintaining the agricultural viability of the land,” Utopia Hill, CEO of Reactivate said in a statement.
The latest U.S. jobs report indicates the economic policies of the current administration go far beyond the agriculture industry to impact the nation as a whole. “Buckle up” is the word of the day, meaning that tougher times lie ahead, but as this new partnership shows, there are still opportunities for farmers and their communities to buckle up together and ride out the storm.
Image: AgriSolar Clearinghouse/Flickr
