Montevideo — Last week at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) PowerXchange  gathering, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) use of Farmer Benefit Plans for Empowering Rural America (New ERA) and Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) program funded clean energy projects. Farmer Benefit Plans are essential to ensure small and midsized farmers benefit from the clean energy transition by helping deliver equitable, positive, and community-informed benefits from a project receiving federal funding. This is a crucial step for the USDA to take following the historic New ERA and PACE clean energy funding included in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The Farmer Benefit Plans concept was originated by CURE last year. Sec. Vilsack included Farmer Benefit Plans in his announcement of $2.3 billion in funding for clean and reliable energy projects for rural communities across the country.

“The USDA is taking a historic step towards assuring farmers benefit from the clean energy transition, said Energy Democracy Program Director for CURE, Erik Hatlestad. He continued, “Farmer Benefit Plans will encourage clean energy developers to be accountable and deliver benefits to farming communities.”

The Farmer Benefit Plan process and final agreement can be carried out between a developer and an individual farmer, group of farmers, or farm organization and can lead to legally enforceable arrangements. Potential components of a Farmer Benefit Plan could include transparent price negotiations, integration of agrivoltaics, revenue sharing with farmers, surrounding community lease payments, or conservation and soil health plans, in addition to other priorities identified through engagement with farmers.

CURE is rurally based, with staff across Minnesota. CURE knows rural people, lands, and ecosystems are vital to helping solve some of the biggest problems Minnesota and the country face. CURE help sto tell the story of a vibrant rural future, lift-up people to lead, and work for policies and laws to make a better future possible for everyone.