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Maryland agriculture leaders warn funding cuts and utility-scale solar threaten farmland and conservation gains
Summary
Farm groups and conservation district leaders told the House Environment and Transportation Committee that cuts to cover-crop funding and pressure from large-scale solar leases are undermining conservation progress and long-term farmland preservation, and urged policymakers to protect prime soils and restore program funding.
Maryland agriculture and conservation leaders warned lawmakers that recent budget cuts and large-scale solar development are putting the state’s conservation progress and farmland preservation at risk.
"The cover crop program is one of the most effective water quality tools in the entire Chesapeake Bay restoration effort," Kimmy Lyons, a Maryland Farm Bureau board member, told the House Environment and Transportation Committee. Lyons said reduced reimbursements and eliminated incentives are making it harder for farmers with tight margins to sign up for cover crops, which protect soil health and reduce nutrient runoff.
The testimony described measurable conservation gains in recent years. John Swain, president of the Maryland Association of Soil Conservation Districts, said cover-crop acres tripled with "more than 495,000 acres in 2025" and wetlands restoration rose to 20,612 acres in 2025, increases he attributed to state cost-share and technical assistance. Swain said districts helped channel about $69,400,000 in state and federal funds to implement conservation projects in 2025.
Farm Bureau and grain-producer witnesses argued these programs require stable funding to remain accessible. Jenny Schmidt of the Maryland Grain Producers Association said the base per-acre reimbursement for cover crops was reduced last year and several incentives were removed, leading some producers to deprioritize planting cover crops when cash flow is tight.
Speakers also raised concerns about utility-scale solar sited on prime agricultural soils. Lyons and other witnesses described a legislative provision tied to counties’ decision-making that has been interpreted to allow up to 5% of a county’s priority preservation area to be used for large-scale solar. Lyons said that, in Hartford County as an example, a 5% allowance would equal 5,500 acres and could materially reduce productive farmland if replicated statewide.
Panelists urged policy steps to reduce conversion of prime cropland, recommending priorities for solar siting on rooftops, brownfields, industrial lands and marginal soils rather than on productive fields. They also asked for stronger measures to protect leased farmland, noting that about 40% of Maryland’s farmland is leased and therefore more vulnerable to long-term conversion.
Lawmakers pressed witnesses for specifics about program cuts and incentives. Committee members said they expect follow-up briefings from state agencies to reconcile program design, incentive deadlines and budget allocations.
The committee did not take votes; lawmakers said they would continue oversight of these programs and discuss potential fixes in forthcoming briefings.
