The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it will cease funding wind and solar energy projects on American farmland, continuing efforts by the Trump administration to eliminate incentives for renewable energy while increasing support for fossil fuels and biofuels, which require significant land.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced at the state fairgrounds in Lebanon, Tennessee, on Monday that taxpayer dollars will no longer be used to fund solar projects on prime farmland, nor will solar panels from foreign adversaries be allowed in USDA-funded projects. This policy change is part of a broader move to roll back Biden-era funding for wind and solar expansion included in the Inflation Reduction Act, which previously supported farmers and agricultural regions.
In July, President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, reducing incentives for wind and solar while bolstering biofuel support, which dominates U.S. cropland use. The Act also limits the use of Chinese-made solar components, a policy echoed by Rollins.
The USDA did not provide responses to questions from Inside Climate News following the announcement on Tuesday regarding the cuts to wind and solar funding. Supporters of the policy change argue it prioritizes protecting the nation’s farmland and food security. Glenn “GT” Thompson, chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, emphasized that food security equates to national security and preserving agricultural land is crucial to maintaining the food supply.
A significant portion of U.S. cropland—178 million out of 328 million acres—is dedicated to corn and soybeans, mainly for biofuels rather than food. About one-third of corn acres produce ethanol, contributing roughly 4 percent to the fuel mix, while over 40 percent of soybeans go to biofuels, which comprise less than 1 percent of the fuel mix. The rest primarily feeds livestock, a significant greenhouse gas emissions source. Only around 2 percent of corn is consumed directly by humans.
Senator Marsha Blackburn expressed her approval of the decision, highlighting that Tennessee farmland should produce food, not host solar panels from foreign countries, endorsing the administration’s stance against financing these projects while supporting biofuels.
In Tennessee, corn and soybeans occupy about 2.5 million acres, the largest agricultural land usage. In 2024, a state commission found that solar development did not pose a threat to Tennessee’s farmland.
The USDA announced it would immediately exclude wind and solar projects from its Rural Development Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program and disqualify any improperly sized systems from another loan program. Earlier, the agency had paused existing REAP grants, leading farmers to sue.
This policy shift may challenge farmers further, as they’ve increasingly depended on income from wind and solar installations amid dropping commodity prices and climate-related production threats. In Iowa, wind power supplies about 60 percent of electricity.
Richa Patel from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition indicated that this popular program helps farmers financially and environmentally, viewing the change as a setback. She mentioned the need for further analysis of the policy’s implications.
On Tuesday, the USDA noted that solar panel installations on farmland have increased nearly 50 percent since 2021, driving this policy change. A 2024 analysis by the USDA showed that only about 424,000 acres were used for wind and solar, representing just 0.05 percent of the nation’s total agricultural land, which remains viable for farming after solar or wind installations.