Winifred Sylvah is harvesting cucumbers at a solar farm in Big Lake, Minnesota, where she is one of three farmers working the land between rows of a 1-megawatt solar array. This type of project, known as agrivoltaics, merges solar power generation with traditional farming. The Big Lake Farm is a collaboration between The Food Group, U.S. Solar, and Conexus Energy. It allows farmers to lease farmland at a lower cost while providing an additional use for land that might otherwise only host solar panels. The project began as a pilot in 2023 and has since been made permanent, with Sylvah and two other farmers signing 10-year leases on the land. Agrivoltaics is considered a promising approach that can benefit both solar energy production and farming. According to Iowa State University Professor Ajay Nair, these systems can yield results comparable to traditional farming methods. Studies suggest that the space between solar panel rows is often larger than people assume, with wiring usually placed underground, allowing for tilling and farming. Some crops actually thrive with partial shade, and with proper irrigation, agrivoltaic land can be a productive place for farming. In western Minnesota, researchers at the University of Minnesota-Morris have successfully tested agrivoltaics with cattle for the past eight years. In this project, 275 cows graze between rows of a 500-kilowatt solar array. The solar panels provide shade, helping to reduce heat stress in the herd and improving their health and productivity. Sylvah, who moved to Minnesota from Sierra Leone in the 1980s, grows a variety of crops in the solar garden, including vegetables that benefit from shade such as onions, collard greens, green beans, and scallions. She plans to make changes for next season, like using fabric to control weeds. She is known for growing West African crops, including okra, sweet potato greens, collard greens, and eggplant, which are in high demand. She sells her produce through a Community Supported Agriculture program and to local public schools in Albertville and Buffalo, Minnesota. The growth of the agrivoltaics project occurs at a time when federal support for emerging farmers has decreased. In March, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced $300 million in cuts to a grant program designed to help new farmers gain access to land and markets, including defunding three programs that supported farmers of color in Minnesota. The Food Group, which runs the Big River Farms incubator program for emerging farmers, has decided not to actively seek federal grants for the next couple of years due to these cuts.