A recent article in the Recorder detailed a resident from South Deerfield suing in court to challenge the rules on property they own that has an agricultural preservation restriction on it [“Couple hits agrisolar roadblock,” Recorder, Oct. 28].

They want to install a commercial solar system on the property, but the restriction limits them to 200% of historic power use as the amount they can install, which is zero because they have never had power on the site.

The agricultural preservation restriction was set up in a way to prevent exactly this from happening. The intent was for a farm business to be able to install enough power to cover any present operations, such as milking equipment, or irrigation pumps, etc., used in the daily operation of a farm, and to allow for some growth of the business.

It was certainly not intended to allow the farm to be converted to any other use, especially a commercial use for profit.

The owner notes that they are not trying to challenge the agencies enforcing the APR, who it sounds like are not responding to this frivolous request, they are just challenging the restriction itself.

I have never been one to mince words, and am probably disliked by some people because of it, but the word that comes to mind to describe what they are trying to do is “sleazy.”

The person who signed the APR on that property was fully aware of what the restriction meant, and that it was a permanent restriction, not something that could be changed at will, and they were justly compensated for the value of it when it went into effect.

To try to use the sudden demand for solar power in the state as an excuse to reverse some of the most important work done to keep our farms viable for future use, and to hope that the governor’s office will somehow intervene and side with them, as it sounds in the article like they are doing, is just plain wrong.

The insinuation that they are just trying to look out for future generations of their family as stated in the article is also very weak as well. That should have been done by investing the money from the initial restriction, and there’s nothing guaranteeing that it will happen with a solar installation, either.

A far better scenario would be for the owner to divest of the property if they feel it is a burden, and no longer worth keeping it as farmland, and using the proceeds to invest in a solar operation on a site elsewhere that will not be converting usable farmland to commercial use ( perhaps they could rent the roof of the proposed Aldi’s in Greenfield, but that is a whole different subject).

It is well documented that the biggest challenge new farmers are faced with is finding affordable land for their business to get started on, and that is supposed to be the function of the APR program, to keep the land affordable just for that purpose.

There is an agency just off the common in South Deerfield that would likely be more than happy to facilitate a transfer, or put the owner in touch with people who could.

This would be a win-win situation for everyone — the owners could invest the money in their newfound passion, saving the planet with solar power, and provide for the future generations of their family they are so concerned about, and either the people that are now farming the property or a new aspiring farmer could buy it at an affordable price, and keep it as farmland the way it was intended to be when the APR was put on it in the first place.

If this lawsuit prevails, it will render the entire APR program worthless, as more lawsuits are sure to follow, challenging every aspect of it.

For the benefit of agriculture in this state, for now, and for generations to come, our state officials should denounce this sham, and the courts should hold the owners accountable to the agreement that was signed, a contract that was clearly defined, and agreed to by both parties, and send a clear message that this type of end-around game won’t be tolerated when it comes to protecting agricultural land, both now, and for future generations, as being able to produce at least some of our food locally is going to be more and more important in the future.

Warren Rice lives in North Orange.