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Jeff Russcher recalls bulldozers plowing everything flat when he visited a solar farm in Indiana.
“They don’t care about the topsoil,” he says now.
“They’re just trying to flatten the land so they can lay panels across. That will never be farmable land again.”
Four months later, the Russchers and local farmers worry the same thing will happen in West Michigan.
On Oct. 14, 2026, a 20th Circuit Court judge ruled RWE Solar can use 562 acres for a proposed 1,900-acre, 200-megawatt solar farm. A Michigan farm family who joined RWE’s initial study in 2020 must now vacate the land under a court order after RWE filed a lawsuit.
They are James Smallegan and his 81-year-old mother, Patricia. The Ottawa County Farm Bureau members believed a five-year lease agreement was part of an early feasibility study and was signed by James’ father in 2020, who died in 2022.
Instead, Ottawa County Circuit Judge Jon Hulsing ruled they had to honor the contract, issuing an opinion that the Smallegans, “their agents, and their servants are enjoined from entering the property that is subject to the agreement.”
The family was granted 10 days to vacate their farmland and property.
“For those 10 days, RWE is also fine with your clients having a temporary license to access those areas of the property required for the caring of your clients’ livestock,” Brandon C. Hubbard, co-chair of Dickinson Wright’s Michigan Litigation Team, wrote in an Oct. 14 email obtained by Michigan Farm News.
“We are doing this in the spirit of seeking resolution with your clients. If we make meaningful progress toward resolution, RWE will consider extending the foregoing temporary license.”
RWE is one of the largest developers and operators of solar projects in the U.S.
The average acre of Ottawa County farmland is valued at $7,588, up from the state average of $6,600 per acre in 2026.
This is prime farmland, Jeff Russcher, an Allegan County Farm Bureau member, said.
“What happened is the contract (the Smallegans) originally signed back in 2020 said that if you signed on for the study, you automatically get enrolled in the program if (RWE) deems (the land) workable,” Jeff told Michigan Farm News.
“There was that fine print that a lawyer probably would have caught and said, ‘Hey, don’t do this.’ But, unfortunately, the Smallegans trusted the people they were working with.”
The Russchers’ family farm, Precision Pork, borders the Smallegans’, who could not go on record for this story due to ongoing litigation with RWE. Lisa Russcher said the solar development will affect their hog operation, completely altering their manure management and future feasibility.
While the Russchers declined RWE’s offer to lease their land, their neighbor’s land is already under contract. According to Jeff, Smallegan and dozens of other farmers received $30 to $40 per acre per year in 2020 under the original five-year contract.
Now, sources say farmers are being offered up to $1,400 per acre annually for 35 years.
But the Smallegans didn’t want to give up their ground, said Lisa, who also serves as Overisel Township supervisor in Allegan County. She said James feels misled — that the contract wasn’t binding in the sense that “you can do whatever you want.”
“The whole project hinges on this farm because it connects other parts of the solar property together,” Lisa continued. “But the Smallegans didn’t want their home farms involved.
“They thought they were done after the RWE study.”
West Michigan is home to 70% of Michigan’s turkeys. The farmland also produces more than 40% of Michigan’s total agricultural sales.
It’s the same farmland that’s being turned into parking lots, said James DeYoung of CJD Farm Consulting Inc. in Grand Rapids.
“(T)he development pressure is extremely obvious,” said DeYoung, whose company works with farmers to develop Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plans — like adding anaerobic digesters, manure storage or sand separators. “You can see it from the highways and any adjacent land near a highway exit. Every large chunk of property is being sold and developed for industrial use.
“The Dorr and Moline area, which used to be prime farmland and home to many small farms, is all being turned into trucking logistics hubs and car part places. I know we need these things too, but at the cost of productive farmland?”
So, what can farmers do if a developer comes knocking?
According to Allison Eicher, general counsel of Michigan Farm Bureau, farmers should gather information, ask questions and consult an attorney before committing to any contract.
“What seems like a simple lease can create obligations that last for decades and have significant impacts on you, your family, and your neighbors,” she said. “There is going to be fine print about access rights, easements, liability, termination, and land use restrictions, and those can have just as much impact on your farm as the money you receive in exchange.”
Over the past 15 years, Ottawa County Farm Bureau’s Jeff VanderWerff has been approached by more than 10 solar companies wanting to offer solar leases. His dad engaged with three that made considerable offers, but all three fell apart when his law firm raised concerns.
RWE’s Michigan portfolio includes projects in Lenawee, Otsego, Clinton, Ottawa, Wayne and Ionia counties. Learn more here.
“We discovered very quickly that these companies don’t like to negotiate any of their terms, and they REALLY don’t like it when you respond to their inquiry by handing them a business card for a partner at (Warner Norcross + Judd LLP) and say, ‘please call this person. All correspondence will run through them,’” VanderWerff wrote in an email to Michigan Farm News.
“I think the best advice I’ve given anyone in this area is to hire a damn good attorney before you even read the documents.”
Farmers should also stay active with their county planning board, DeYoung, a Kent County Farm Bureau member, added.
“I recently heard the statistic that we are losing several football fields worth of productive farmland each day to development,” he said.
As for James, “He is in this fight because he didn’t want to affect other farmers,” said Lisa Russcher.
“These contracts can have unintended consequences on other farmers.”
RWE didn’t return a request for comment by press time.
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