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Cooperative Farming around Solar – Yellow Barn Commons Info Meeting

• Wednesday, August 13, 2025, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM

Are you a veggie, fruit, poultry, livestock, or bee farmer and have struggled to find affordable land in the Ithaca area? It’s time to think creatively about how to get land into the hands of all of you talented farmers out there! CCE Tompkins is working to establish a cooperative farm on land that is part of a proposed 1,100-acre solar project in Lansing and Groton. Did you know that farmers are paid hundreds of dollars per acre per year to farm around solar panels? Did you know that lots of crops (not just sheep) can be successfully grown around panels? If you are potentially interested in being part of this cooperative farm and would like to find out more, please attend our farmer information meeting (in-person or via zoom). The focus of this meeting will be to:

• See who is interested in being part of the Yellow Barn Commons Project and get a sense of what types of agriculture and how many acres of land people need.
• Provide a virtual tour of the property – information on soils, site layout, acres, house and barns, maps and photos.
• Share information about how farming under/around the panels would work. What crops are successful? What equipment is needed? What type of yields might be anticipated compared to more conventional agriculture? Strategies for maintaining access for solar panel maintenance?
• Share information about how vegetative management contracts work with solar companies. How much would farmers be paid per acre? What requirements would need to be met for landscape maintenance? Equipment sharing for vegetative management? Insurance requirements, safety training, personal protective equipment requirements?
• Brainstorm a shared vision for the Yellow Barn Commons.
• Discuss ideas for shared housing, shared barn space, shared marketing space. Would people be interested in living on-site?
• Talk about next steps: Tour an agrivoltaic farm? Tour the property?

Fee

Free

Register

https://ccetompkins.wufoo.com/forms/zkfonow1g5l8ie/

Location

This event is online

Location

CCE-Tompkins Education Center
615 Willow Avenue
Ithaca, NY 14850-3555

Last updated July 11, 2025