Texas farmer grows from 27 to 10,000 sheep by grazing solar farms across 40,000 acres

When JR Howard considered selling his small flock of 27 sheep, he was struggling to make a living from farming in Texas. Today, he manages 10,000 sheep that graze across 40,000 acres of large solar farms throughout the state. The change began when a developer built a solar project near his property. Instead of seeing the energy project as a threat to farming, Howard secured a contract to let his sheep graze on the site and control plant growth. As reported by the San Antonio Express-News, that first deal gave him the income and opportunity he needed to grow his business into one of the largest solar grazing operations in North America. This approach, known as agrivoltaics or solar grazing, has become a practical business option for renewable energy companies and livestock farmers facing rising land costs and ongoing drought.Scaling up vegetation controlLarge solar farms need short grass and low plant cover to stop weeds and bushes from shading solar panels or creating fire risks. Traditional mowing can be expensive. It uses heavy machinery that burns diesel and can throw up rocks that damage costly equipment. According to reporting by the San Antonio Express-News, solar developers ...