BioCycle March 2011, Vol. 52, No. 3, p. 6 2009 On-Farm Renewable
Energy Production Survey The number of solar panels, wind
turbines and methane digesters on U.S. farms and ranches has
increased significantly over the past decade, with 8,569
operations now producing their own renewable energy, according
to the results of the 2009 On-Farm Renewable Energy Production
Survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
National Agricultural Statistics Service. This was the first-
ever nationwide survey assessing renewable energy practices on
America’s farms and ranches. “These results indicate that
farmers and ranchers are increasingly adopting renewable energy
practices on their operations and reaping the important economic
and environmental benefits,” said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom
Vilsack, when releasing the report in late February. “This
survey gives us a benchmark against which we can measure our
future successes.” Solar panels were the most prominent way to
produce on-farm energy – 7,968 farm opera