The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced it would restrict the use of federal subsidies for solar energy projects in favor of protecting farmland, but clean energy advocates say solar gives farmers a higher production value per acre than any traditional crop.

U.S. Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins has announced USDA will no longer subsidize wind and solar energy on productive farmland.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced this week that it will no longer provide federal funding for large solar projects on farmland or allow solar panels made by what it calls “foreign adversaries” to be used in USDA programs.