USDA halts renewable energy projects on prime farmland, prioritizing food production over green subsidies
By isabelle // 2025-08-21
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  • The Trump administration has halted USDA funding for solar and wind projects on productive farmland, reversing Biden-era policies that prioritized renewable energy over food security.
  • Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins emphasized that industrial-scale solar and wind installations have destroyed millions of acres of prime farmland, threatening the future of American agriculture and young farmers.
  • Between 2012 and 2020, over 424,000 acres of farmland were consumed by wind and solar projects, with projections of further losses, making land more expensive and less accessible for farmers.
  • The policy shift aligns with President Trump’s July executive order eliminating subsidies for unreliable, foreign-controlled energy sources, emphasizing nuclear power as a more efficient alternative.
  • Lawmakers and officials argue that preserving farmland is critical for national food security, rejecting the idea that America’s agricultural future should be sacrificed for green energy experiments tied to foreign interests.
For years, America’s farmers have watched their land disappear under solar panels and wind turbines, all while taxpayer dollars subsidized the destruction. Now, the Trump administration is putting a stop to it. On August 18, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will no longer fund solar or wind projects on productive farmland, effective immediately. The move reverses Biden-era policies that prioritized renewable energy over food security, a decision Rollins called necessary to protect America’s agricultural future. “Millions of acres of prime farmland is left unusable so Green New Deal subsidized solar panels can be built,” Rollins wrote on X. “This destruction of our farms and prime soil is taking away the futures of the next generation of farmers and the future of our country.” The policy shift comes after President Donald Trump’s July 7 executive order eliminating subsidies for “unreliable, foreign-controlled energy sources.” The order criticized wind and solar for displacing affordable domestic energy, compromising the electric grid, and damaging America’s natural landscapes.

Farmland under siege

Between 2012 and 2020, over 90% of large wind turbines and 70% of rural solar projects were installed on farmland, consuming about 424,000 acres by 2020. While proponents argue that solar panels can coexist with agriculture, the reality is that industrial-scale installations often render land unusable for farming. Tennessee alone has lost over 1.2 million acres of farmland in the last 30 years, with projections of another 2 million acres lost by 2027. “Our prime farmland should not be wasted and replaced with Green New Deal subsidized solar panels,” Rollins said. “One of the largest barriers of entry for new and young farmers is access to land. Subsidized solar farms have made it more difficult for farmers to access farmland by making it more expensive and less available.” Lawmakers like Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Representative Andy Harris (R-MD) have applauded the move, arguing that farmland should be used for food, not foreign-made energy experiments. The USDA’s decision reflects a broader shift in energy policy under Trump, who has long criticized wind and solar as unreliable and economically burdensome. The Interior Department has also scaled back renewable projects, with Secretary Doug Burgum noting that nuclear power is far more efficient, producing 33.17 megawatts per acre compared to offshore wind’s 0.006 MW/acre. “Food security is national security,” said House Agriculture Committee Chairman GT Thompson (R-PA). “Preserving prime farmland for agricultural production is a key component of protecting our food supply.”

A win for American sovereignty

For those who have warned about the dangers of outsourcing energy production to China, this policy change is a victory. The USDA’s decision ensures that taxpayer dollars will no longer fund projects that undermine American agriculture or rely on foreign adversaries. As Representative Tom Tiffany (R-WI) put it: “The land that feeds America should never be sacrificed for unreliable green energy experiments subsidized by taxpayer dollars.” The messages are clear: America’s farmland belongs to farmers, not foreign-made solar panels. And under this administration, food security comes first. Sources for this article include: YourNews.com USDA.gov EHN.org Reuters.com
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