Renewable Energy is Boosting Farmers’ Earnings
American farmers are facing a brutal combination of erratic weather, climbing input costs, and margins so thin that one bad season can erase a year's profit. New RMI research shows wind and solar income rivaling major farm commodities in some states, a development with real implications for cash-strapped farming communities. Unusually violent temperature swings over the past few months have devastated wheat crops across Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, and Nebraska. Where 40 to 50 bushels per acre was once typical, some fields are now producing fewer than two. USDA assessments classified 44% of the Kansas crop and 49% of Oklahoma's…
