Buchanan property rights |

Are Your Supervisors Really Going to Vote Against Farmer Property Rights on November 14?

The Buchanan County Supervisors may approve an anti-wind ordinance.

If we let them, farmers will be the first ones hurt.

Anti-Renewable ordinances hurt farmers who voluntarily lease part of their land for renewable energy because they’ve decided that it makes sense for their families.

Most people agree – 67% of Iowa voters – that it’s not anyone else’s right to take that decision away. The government shouldn’t tell farmers what to do with their land.

Buchanan County deserves a wind ordinance that protects the property rights of farmers. The ordinance Supervisors are reviewing November 14 violates those rights.

Tell Buchanan County Supervisors to VOTE NO on the anti-wind ordinance on November 14.

Click the button to fill out a short form with your name so we can personalize a sample message to your Supervisors. You can see and edit the message before sending it. It’s really easy!)

Need more information? See below.

Why Farmers Decide to Lease Land to Wind or Solar Farms

Reliable source of income for decades

Income secure from bad weather or drought

Diversify their income

Today Iowa’s farmers decide to grow crops for a variety of purposes, including corn for ethanol and soybeans for soybean oil, to replace machine grease. Solar or wind farming is another option.

Farmland Preserved

Renewable energy companies must return the land to its original state at the end of the project. Farmland owners can return their land to crop farming after decommissioning if they choose.

Benefits of Homegrown Iowa Renewable Energy

Renewables do not depend on a continual supply of fuel from foreign sources to generate energy.

The U.S. wind industry employs America’s veterans at a rate 50% above the national average.

Renewable energy prices are stable since they generate energy from a free energy source – the sun and wind!

Renewable energy development delivers millions of dollars in economic benefits to their host counties.

Renewables provide hundreds of good jobs during construction

Renewable energy attracts new employers and businesses looking for access to renewable energy as part of a private sector move to renewable energy (for example, the Facebook data center in Altoona).

Local renewable energy projects generate of millions in property taxes paid by the wind and solar companies that can support improvement to local schools, roads and other county services.

Frequently Asked Questions

Solar Panel Manufacture

We support increasing the American production of solar panels. Once a panel is in place it produces energy from the sun shining on American soil and does not depend on ongoing and continuous supply of fuel from foreign sources, which is not true of other types of energy. Adding more solar now helps reduce American reliance on continuous imports of foreign energy now, moving us further towards our goal of energy independence.

Wind Turbines and Wildlife

According to the Clean Energy Association: “Wind power is far less harmful to wildlife than traditional energy sources it displaces, including to birds and their critical habitats. Overall, wind causes less than 0.01% of all human-related bird deaths. Other causes include buildings (550 million), power lines (130 million), cars (80 million), pesticide poisoning, (67 million), and radio and cell towers (6.8 million).”

Soil preservation

Proper soil management during the project contributes to agricultural sustainability. Farmers can resume planting crops after decommissioning if they choose.

Benefit to Farmers

Many farmers who lease a portion of their land to renewable energy companies are provided with financial security. This allows them to continue to farm the rest of their land and keep the land in their families.

No taxpayer money needed

The construction of wind and solar farms is not funded by the government or taxpayers, but rather private companies making an investment in renewables. No local tax dollars will be used to build these projects.

Solar Panels are Solid

Solar panels are solid and sealed and cannot be penetrated by rainwater. In the same way the screens on the smartphones we carry with us all the time do not leak, solar panels do not leach.

Protecting the land

Solar developers make plans to control erosion and runoff by adding vegetation around the panels, as well as beautify the site with natural buffers. They also set aside money to restore the land to the same or better condition it was in before, after the solar farm lease ends, so farmers can resume crop farming, if they wish.