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.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Tuesday it will heighten scrutiny of some solar and wind projects but stopped short of ending all agency support for clean energy projects on U.S. farms, according to a press release.