Helping Farmers Stay in Farming

American farmers are often resistant to change, and have an antagonistic relationship with those in the green movement.  But there’s no reason why they can’t be part of the “green revolution,” and there’s a new program that can help smaller family farms improve their bottom line. The USDA Rural Development office has announced a new grant program that allows famers to receive grants to being renewable energy projects, such as installing wind turbines or solar panels—and of course biomass . . . so all that agricultural waste can be put to good use, instead of in our water supply.  The program funds programs’ costs of up to 25%, and provides loan guarantees for the rest of the funds farmers would need. It’s an opportunity to help farmers stay afloat so that we’re all not eating AMD projects.  If John Deere can reinvent itself by having farmers install the company’s wind turbines on their land, this program should be able to help farmers go another step further in easing our country away from foreign oil.