Dear Editor,
The Franklin County Agricultural Land Preservation Board’s mission to preserve and protect prime farmland and the rich agricultural history of Franklin County is under threat from the growing development of grid-scale solar. Over the past five years, Franklin County has seen an influx of this type of development, with roughly 4,100 acres of land impacted by solar arrays. In roughly the same period, we have seen a nearly 10 percent decrease of farms in operation.
Concern over losing scenic viewsheds is high, but there is also cause for concern over solar impacts generally, including its direct effect on farming. Without a clear path for decommissioning these sites, the community may become responsible for the cost to clean up and remove arrays that have reached the end of their useful life. Furthermore, soil compaction and erosion from site development and rain water is evidenced to be detrimental to the quality of the soils over time and leave the land infeasible to be returned to agricultural use when these solar leases come to an end.
While solar subsidies increase, farms continue to feel the squeeze of increased production costs. Larger profit margins for solar companies, brought by these subsidies, has artificially increased economic pressure on leasing and purchasing farm land, which is creating difficulties for local farmers to maintain or sign new leases and purchase additional farmland for production.
Each acre lost to solar represents food availability for one less individual. As the fifth highest producer of agricultural products in Pennsylvania, this loss affects not only the local community but represents a much larger regional impact as well.
Since its beginning, our board has worked diligently to preserve farmland with the available funding allocations, reaching nearly 20,000 acres preserved. We encourage farmers and community members to continue to support the preservation of our vital farmland, as we continue to compete with solar in order to feed future generations. Farm owners can submit applications and donate land to the program. Additionally, community members can make financial donations to expand the reach of farmland preservation. Interested individuals can contact the Franklin County Planning Department at 717-261-3855 or planning@franklincountypa.gov
Respectfully,
The Franklin County
Agricultural Land Preservation Board
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