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Representatives from the University of Maryland Extension’s Agriculture and Food Systems program join sheep producers and others interested in solar grazing July 15, 2026 in Washington County.
Katahdin sheep owned by Joe and Sara Kidd graze in a solar field July 15, 2026 in Washington County, Md.
Sara Kidd, a Frederick County Agriculture and Food Systems Extension educator, and Joe Kidd, a shepherd, veteran and farmer, explain how they became involved in solar grazing and discuss its benefits at a site in Washington County, Md. on July 15, 2026.
Joe Kidd demonstrates his portable watering system for sheep on a solar site in Washington County, Md. on July 14, 2026.
A sheep with a virtual fencing collar on July 15, 2026 at a Maryland Solar Grazing Solutions site in Washington County.
Representatives from the University of Maryland Extension’s Agriculture and Food Systems program join sheep producers and others interested in solar grazing July 15, 2026 in Washington County.
HAGERSTOWN, Md. — Can livestock grazing among solar panels preserve agricultural productivity as solar companies seek ever more land to use for harvesting the sun’s rays?
Joe and Sara Kidd believe so, if it’s done right.
The owners of Maryland Solar Grazing Solutions LLC have contracts with several solar companies to maintain parcels of farmland leased for solar arrays.
A central part of the Kidds’ strategy is rotationally grazing sheep for what they call “sustainable vegetation management” while producing lambs as a marketable product.
It’s a form of agrivoltaics, or combining agriculture with solar projects.
Katahdin sheep owned by Joe and Sara Kidd graze in a solar field July 15, 2026 in Washington County, Md.
One of their major investments in the business was equipping their sheep with virtual fence collars that eliminate electrified net fencing and can be used to create the boundaries of practically any size paddock with a few swipes on a smartphone.
The couple hosted a pasture walk July 15 on a rocky 12-acre field leased out to a solar company by a local farmer in northern Washington County, one of four solar sites where the Kidds’ flock of Katahdin hair sheep graze.
Solar companies require vegetation maintenance on their sites and some promote grazing as a way to do it, creating openings for contractors like the Kidds to make productive use of the land rather than just mow it.
The business was launched in 2023 and the couple took it over from the previous owner last year after moving to the area from North Carolina, where they studied at North Carolina State University and began raising sheep.
Sara is employed as a University of Maryland Extension associate agent in Frederick County specializing in small ruminants and agrivoltaics as she continues to work toward completing a doctoral degree from NCSU.
Joe, a Marine veteran and the main shepherd for the operation, brings a range of mechanical and logistical savvy to the business.
Sara Kidd, a Frederick County Agriculture and Food Systems Extension educator, and Joe Kidd, a shepherd, veteran and farmer, explain how they became involved in solar grazing and discuss its benefits at a site in Washington County, Md. on July 15, 2026.
Getting started was capital intensive, he said. It included the purchase of the virtual collars, a water delivery system and a commercial zero-turn mower for clipping the grass after the sheep have grazed it.
However, he wants to fine-tune rotational grazing to the point where the sheep can take the place of the mower and string trimmer.
“My goal is not to use those things,” he said.
Even though it’s significantly easier to mow after grazing compared to mowing ungrazed pasture, he eventually wants to see the machines eliminated altogether.
To that end, he is experimenting with matching paddock sizes and animal numbers to maximize the sheep’s ability to keep the paddocks grazed to compliance with solar companies’ requirements for vegetation length.
Currently, he sets the paddock size at 1 to 1 1/2 acres and keeps the flock of 68 sheep on a paddock for about two days, but he’s working toward plans to reducing the size to about three-quarters of an acre.
The flock stays on the 12-acre site for about a month before the sheep are transported to another one of four sites the Kidds manage, totaling about 40 acres.
A drawback for the operation is that the older solar panels on the sites they manage were installed without any consideration for livestock grazing. For example, the bottom edges of the panels are close to the ground, making it difficult for the sheep to graze in certain areas.
“Right now we have to adapt the animals to the site,” Joe said. “It’s better to adapt the site to the animals.”
An arm injury that had limited Joe’s ability to handle conventional fencing propelled his interest in using Nofence virtual livestock collars, the only brand to offer the technology for small ruminants.
The collars operate on GPS and cellular technology and can go months without charging the battery. In addition to saving time and labor, they allow the sheep to be moved and fenced remotely.
“I think they’re revolutionary,” Joe said. “These collars are saving me about 12 hours a week. A person with a disability could manage with them.”
A sheep with a virtual fencing collar on July 15, 2026 at a Maryland Solar Grazing Solutions site in Washington County.
The collars also are equipped with a pedometer that monitors animal activity and sends alerts if a sheep is not moving as much as usual, which potentially indicates a health problem.
The site has no water source, requiring the Kidds to haul it in, either from a bulk water depot in Frederick, where they can fill the 250-gallon tank in about three minutes, or from their home tap, which takes about a half hour, Joe said.
On-site, the water is transferred to a 75-gallon tank with a small trough that automatically refills by means of a float valve. Hitched to an all-terrain vehicle, the tank can be hauled anywhere the sheep are so they have constant access.
Joe said he had hauled about 800 gallons of water in the past month, pointing out that two heat waves were a factor. That amount still only adds up to about a half a gallon per sheep per day or less, since much of their water needs are met by grazing.
Joe Kidd demonstrates his portable watering system for sheep on a solar site in Washington County, Md. on July 14, 2026.
In addition to the income the Kidds receive from solar companies, they haul the lamb crop to New Holland in late winter or spring in time for the Islamic festival Eid al-Fitr.
Jeff Semler, an Extension agent in Washington County, believes what the Kidds are doing is clearing the way for greater acceptance of solar fields on farmland, especially land that is already marginal for growing crops.
The idea, he said, is to help people understand it’s just a matter of changing the mode of land use for farming.
When it comes to renewable energy, “of all the options, I think solar is our best choice,” Semler said.
Despite the challenges, the Kidds are optimistic about solar grazing and would like to see solar companies adapt their arrays to allow multispecies grazing.
“I believe in this,” Joe said. “I believe this is an important step for agriculture. What we do is allow farming to come back to this land with a good compromise.”
If the trend toward more solar installments continues, opportunities for livestock grazing appear likely to increase, as long as solar developers are able to find suitable locations.
“We’ve got a ton of solar companies reaching out to us” seeking sites for more projects, Sara said.
Chicago-based Nautilus Solar Energy LLC, the company that leases the site where the pasture walk took place, has been “very supportive of grazing,” she added.
The Kidds recently developed a solar grazing internship through the Skillbridge program for military members as they near the end of their service. The program connects transitioning service members to real-world job experiences.
The pasture walk was organized by the Kidds along with University of Maryland Extension’s Agriculture and Food Systems program.
The Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center is studying how soybeans and vegetables fare growing under solar panels.
A recent tour of solar sites in Centre County, Pennsylvania, showed several ways the industry can grow while being mindful of concerns such as losing farmland to solar arrays.
Agrivoltaics — farming among solar panels — provides an opportunity to diversify income.
Staff Reporter
Dave Lefever is a staff reporter for Lancaster Farming. He can be reached at dlefever@lancasterfarming.com
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