A few months ago, one of my coworkers asked me if I knew anything about solar grazing. She said that with all of the solar farms going in, it seemed like a major opportunity to get grazing animals back on the landscape. I said that I didn’t know much about it, but that I also wanted to learn more.
Just a couple weeks later, I found myself at the Practical Farmers of Iowa Conference, listening to a presentation called “A Bright Future with Solar Grazing”. The presentation was being given by an Iowa farmer and entrepreneur named Aaron Steele. And as it turned out, he was also a podcast host!
In the latest episode of the Perennial AF podcast, I talk with Aaron about what he’s learned about grazing on solar farms. We quickly realized that many of the challenges of grazing under solar panels are similar to the challenges of grazing under trees in a silvopasture system.
Show Notes & Links:
Farm Dog Podcast – hosted by Aaron Steele
Wisconsin Working Stock Dog Association
American Solar Grazing Association
2023 Solar Farm Summit and Agrivoltaics Expo – March 13th-15th, 2023
Solar Grazing 101 Webinar – Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT)
Goats On The Go®
EQIP Practice 314: “Biological Control With Grazing Animals” – (NRCS EQIP funding can cover up to half the cost of brush management with goats or other livestock)
Midwest Grazing Exchange – this matchmaking site helps landowners and livestock herd owners connect