As a full-time farmer, I say “no thanks” to the Amherst Working Group’s support of so-called “dual-use” solar on farmland. Why? Massachusetts solar regulators have no requirement that the farmer receive the solar income, if the farmer is not the landowner. Also, there will be a marked decrease in crop productivity — the only question is how much. The Massachusetts regulation allows up to a 50% decrease. And there will be an inflation of the land value that will make the land unaffordable to future farmers. Farmers need income support, but please don’t make our limited farmland less viable.
FredBeddall
Holyoke