USDA Announces Major Shift To Protect America’s Farmland: What It Means For Texas And Wilson County
- LoriDawn Messuri
- Dec 9, 2025
- 3 min read
Across the United States, especially here in Texas, farmers and rural communities have been feeling the pressure as large solar companies buy up or lease productive farmland. These projects remove land from agricultural use, drive up land prices, and create long term impacts on our food and water resources.
In August 2025, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a new policy that directly addresses this growing concern. The USDA will no longer use taxpayer dollars to fund large solar projects on productive farmland, and it will no longer allow USDA funded projects to use solar panels made by foreign adversaries. This is a major shift, and it has important implications for rural Texas counties like Wilson County.
Below is a simple explanation of what this change means and why it matters for our community.
Protecting Productive Farmland
For years, subsidized solar development has pushed into agricultural areas across the country. Between rising land prices, long term lease agreements, and the permanent conversion of land into industrial use, many communities have struggled to conserve their farmland.
The USDA is taking action by making a clear decision:
USDA programs will not support utility scale solar projects placed on productive farmland.
This means:
Solar companies will no longer be able to access certain USDA loans or guarantees to build large solar fields on agricultural land.
Rural landowners will face less pressure from developers offering high prices that make farming difficult to sustain.
Counties focused on preserving agriculture and local resources now have federal support for protecting farmland from being removed from production.
This is especially meaningful for Texas, where agricultural land has been disappearing at one of the fastest rates in the country.
Ensuring Solar Panels Are Made In America Or Allied Nations
The USDA also announced that projects receiving USDA funds can no longer use solar panels manufactured by foreign adversaries. The Department is emphasizing national security, supply chain reliability, and American manufacturing.
This applies to rural projects funded through USDA programs such as:
REAP (Rural Energy for America Program)
Rural Development loans and guarantees
Business and Industry programs
Texas has seen rapid growth in solar development, but a large portion of solar equipment in the past has been imported. This change ensures that taxpayer dollars support American industries and supply chains that do not pose a security risk.
Small Scale Farm And Ranch Solar Projects Are Still Allowed
It is important to note that Texas farmers and ranchers can still apply for USDA incentives for small solar systems that support their own operations.
The new rules say:
Ground mounted solar over 50 kW will not qualify.
Solar projects must match actual historical energy use, not oversized systems designed for resale or grid export.
This helps ensure that solar programs truly benefit producers rather than large companies trying to develop industrial solar farms.
Why This Matters For Wilson County
Here in Wilson County, residents have been increasingly concerned about:
Solar and battery storage proposals
Data center energy demands
Pressure on land prices
Water use and aquifer impacts
Loss of agricultural heritage
This USDA decision supports rural communities like ours by prioritizing farmland preservation and helping prevent the industrialization of open space that is needed for farming, ranching, wildlife, and groundwater recharge.
It also aligns with our mission: Protect our Water. Protect our land. Protect our future.
Farmland and water go hand in hand. When agricultural land is replaced with large industrial surfaces, it changes runoff patterns, affects soil health, and can have long term impacts on aquifers. Keeping land in agricultural use keeps it permeable, productive, and part of a sustainable future for the county.
Looking Ahead
This USDA action does not stop all solar development, but it does remove federal support for projects that convert prime farmland into industrial solar fields. It also protects rural landowners from distorted land prices caused by subsidized development and keeps American agriculture at the center of federal rural policy.
For Texas, which is experiencing some of the fastest farmland loss in the country, this is a significant step.
To read the full USDA announcement, you can view the original article here:
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