WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Dave Taylor (R-OH) and USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins issued a joint op-ed in the Cincinnati Enquirer on Thursday, warning that federal incentives for large-scale solar developments threaten American food security and national sovereignty by replacing prime agricultural land.
The op-ed highlights that 83 percent of utility-scale solar installations in the U.S. currently occupy farmland. Taylor and Rollins criticized previous federal green energy subsidies, arguing they forced local farmers to compete against heavily backed energy projects that often rely on solar panels imported from foreign adversaries like China.
“Under the Biden administration, billions of dollars in federal subsidies and ‘green’ energy tax credits pushed large-scale solar developments onto farmland,” the officials wrote. “We shouldn’t be subsidizing solar projects on prime farmland—that land is too valuable for producing the food and fuel our nation depends on.”
The pair highlighted recent policy shifts within the USDA, which announced it will no longer fund solar projects situated on productive agricultural land, nor will it allow panels manufactured by foreign adversaries in USDA-supported initiatives.
The commentary comes following legislative momentum in Congress. Rep. Taylor introduced the Protecting American Farmland Act in May 2025 to formally prohibit USDA funding for solar developments on prime farmland. The measure successfully passed the House of Representatives on April 30, 2026, as an amendment integrated into the broader Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026.
During a House Agriculture Committee hearing in June 2025, Secretary Rollins confirmed the Trump administration’s backing of the statutory restriction.
Taylor represents Ohio’s 2nd Congressional District—a expansive southern and central Ohio region covering 15 full counties, including Pickaway, Ross, Clermont, and Scioto, along with a portion of Fayette County. He serves as a member of the House Agriculture Committee.
