Promote wind and solar power in right places
There's something reassuring about the farms we've worked so hard to preserve here in the nation's most densely populated state. Not only are the Garden State's farms beautiful to look at, but they also produce fresh food and help fight global warming.

As food prices rise and concerns about climate change deepen, preserved farmland becomes increasingly precious. Agricultural soils "sequester" carbon as they produce crops that feed the state.

But what we call a preserved farm will change dramatically if a proposal to promote commercial solar and wind energy facilities on preserved farmland becomes law.

A bill making its way through the state Legislature redefines agriculture to include wind and solar power generation. These new "agricultural uses" would be afforded the protections and benefits of the "Right to Farm" and "Farmland Assessment" laws.

A standard dictionary definition of agriculture is "the science, art, or practice of cultivating the soil, producing crops, and raising livestock and in varying degrees the preparation and marketing of the resulting products." Looping power generation into this definition is a stretch.

There is no reason to stop farm owners from using solar panels and wind turbines to power their agricultural operations and selling excess energy back to the grid. But redefining renewable energy as agriculture could end up discouraging farming and squandering the potential of our nutrient-rich soils.

Don't get me wrong; I'm a big proponent of solar and wind power. There is clearly a pressing need for renewable energy and there are a multitude of places where it should be promoted and encouraged. But preserved farmland is not one of them.

This effort to redefine agriculture creates legal issues, too. Public dollars preserved these farms by extinguishing development rights, yet none of the revenues generated by commercial solar and wind facilities would go back the public.

Instead of messing with farms, let's put solar and wind energy facilities where they belong. Warehouses, shopping malls and office buildings cover vast swaths of New Jersey. Why not put them to work by installing solar panels on rooftops?

This legislation tries to satisfy one societal need — clean energy — by compromising another — preserved farmland.

Agricultural land that is supplying food and pastoral beauty, fighting global warming and providing an alternative to sprawl shouldn't be diverted for power generation.

Please contact your legislators and urge them not to support this bill, S1538/A2859. To find out the names, addresses and telephone numbers of your legislators, go to www.state.nj.us/members/legsearch .asp. And I hope you'll contact me at info@njconservation.org, or visit NJCF's Web site at www.njconservation. org, for more information about conserving New Jersey's precious land and natural resources.
Michele S. Byers
Executive Director
New Jersey Conservation
Foundation
Far Hills