“{Wind turbines} allowed us to continue to farm the land we love in a way that multiple generations have.”
“One of our favorite things to do is sit out on the porch and hear the wind turbines.”
There are two things our world is going to continually need: food and power. Being a third-generation farmer and rancher, I have an appreciation for the land and its capabilities to provide as well as an understanding of a farmer/rancher’s obligation to produce quality crops/products for our communities near and far.
On other hand, I have been fortunate enough to work within the Renewable industry for the past 10 years. Through those years I have recognized both the importance and demand there is for energy now and in the future. Unique circumstances have brought two of my passions together to create efficiency of the land through Agrivoltaics/Agri-PV.
Our experience and research, combined with studies by others, would suggest that we may be able to increase our agriculture production by creating microclimates for our grass species and provide shade to get better health and production from cattle! We are confident that solar and farming/ranching can successfully coexist.
Brent Huwa
Keenesburg, Colorado
In your own words.
In your communities.
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I grew up farming near Hillsboro, OH and left to go to school and become a national park ranger. I met my husband while working at Yellowstone national park and we moved back to Ohio to get back into agriculture, and we fell in love with farming sheep. This led us to starting our solar grazing company and working in the renewable energy space. This is a perfect blend of agriculture and renewable energy, and addresses many of the concerns that people have with big solar projects by allowing the land to still be farmed.
Amanda Wilson
Ohio Solar Grazing, Hillsboro, Ohio
Voicing your support.
Tinu Daboiku
I don’t have a lot of experience with farming in the conventional sense, but I do have a passion for working with and for the Earth towards self-sufficiency. My composting business helps support the sustainable lifecycle that I want to live, and I would love to get to a point where I can utilize renewable energy sources on my farm and property so that I don’t have to pay for a resource that can and should be free.
Tinu Daboiku, Dayton, OH
Kat Urquhart
It’s important for farmers and ranchers to join up with renewable energy. It would be a beneficial to both parties. Agriculture these days is hard enough, leasing a portion of land for a lease would make the hard times a little easier.
Kat Urquhart, Colorado
Howard DeForest
It [Renewable energy] is one of the many ways to make our electric infrastructure more efficient and creates jobs to maintain and sustain our growing use of energy
Howard DeForest, Michigan
Anna Clare Monlezun & Giovanni Taormina
We love living off grid, reliant on solar and wind power, we feel its gratifying to be living off of clean energy and to know our day-to-day activities are not contributing to fossil fuel extraction…. We graze our sheep, cattle, poultry, and horses around our solar array. and it’s integrated into the pastures. It doesn’t interfere with the grazing management, and we can still operate and rotationally graze as usual.
Anna Clare Monlezun & Giovanni Taormina, Guffey, CO
Ashley Beery
“Leasing my land for the Richwood Solar farm was the only option that we saw for maintaining it. Both my mother and myself have serious medical complications, and my father is in a nursing home. We have been struggling financially and had to sell my father’s home in the past. We did not want to lose our land, and with me being an only child, solar farming provided the best solution to our problems.”
Ashley Beery
Richwood, OH
Sam Roberts
I am a BIG advocate for renewable energy due to seeing some of the devastation from fossil fuel and non renewable energies in my town and towns like mines. I would love to see communities like my own to thrive more economically as a result of using renewable energy that also combats the devastation from non renewable fossil fuel.
Sam Roberts, Columbus, OH
Steven Hermesch, Kansas
I have a wind turbine on my farm, and I’ve had it on my farm for about four years. I have had a 100% positive experience with it.
Steven Hermesch, Kansas
Beverly Johnson, Longmont, CO
I have a well on my farm, and I am very fortunate to have a water source on my property. I am currently looking to convert that pump to solar to have it run with renewable energy and save money. We have the power from the sun, so we should use it.
Beverly Johnson, Longmont, CO
Fief Family Farms
We had been interested in grazing our sheep in a solar array for a while when United Agrivoltaics contacted us about a project 3 miles down the road from our farm. We get paid to graze and don’t have to worry about any of the maintenance work or costs. We are really impressed with the operation, we are not grazing any differently than we would be on our own property. When you can combine solar and grazing it just makes sense- it’s good for the environment and energy production and it can create an additional income for the farmer.
Babette Fief, La Junta, CO
Heather Secrist
“Having solar on my property was a dream of mine; our farm has clean air, clean water, clean food, and clean energy is the icing on the cake. The Rural Commerce grant helped us save 25% in installations, and MinnSolar was a fabulous help in that. We have designed our farm to be net zero in energy usage.”
Heather Secrist, Suncrest Garden Farms, Cochrane, WI
Michael Anderson, Colorado
As a master electrician, I have a good understanding of electrical efficiency. I have looked into doing some solar energy while continuing my faming practices. I have a well on my property, and I see a lot of potential with having solar energy on my farm.
Michael Anderson, Colorado
Nathan Weathers
I am interested in putting solar panels on my land and where my cattle graze. Why not make money on a shade structure? If we can create another income stream, lower costs, and still graze cattle, its a win-win.
Nathan Weathers, Yuma, CO
Geronimo Oplinger
I am an old man, I believe in science, and I follow the facts. Renewable energy makes sense, and is the right path to help clean up the planet. That is why its important to have organizations like Farm-to-Power.
Geronimo Oplinger, Laotto, IN
Amera Platt
I support renewable energy because I want to save the planet. why else? Doesn’t everyone want to save the planet?
Amera Platt, New Haven, IN
Tammy Thompson
“I have two wind turbines on my farm, and we receive payment for the lease on them. They financially help support my farm.”
Tammy Thompson, Agenda, KS
Jamie Newkirk
As property owner of {a} family farm, I feel we should have the right to decide if one form of renewable energy is right for us, not the local decision makers.
Jamie Newkirk, Falmouth, IN
Steve Gwinnup, Falmouth, IN
I had a signed lease wind a wind farm, as did many of my neighbors. The County Commissioners, who had invited the wind farm to the county, reversed their intentions of commissioning the project because of local opposition and pulled the plug. Later I signed a lease with a solar company, but it was stopped because a neighbor would not let us cross their property to gain a connection to the grid. So much for my property rights in my home community. I have since sold my farm and purchased a ranch in Tennessee.
Steve Gwinnup, Falmouth, IN
