The American Lamb Board held a Targeted Grazing Workshop in Easton, Md., where 28 producers from nine states gathered to discuss opportunities for growing sheep production in the United States through solar grazing. This was the sixth workshop of its kind since the program started in 2024.

ALB partnered with the American Solar Grazing Association to offer a solar grazing certification to participants who completed the 3-day workshop sponsored by Urban Grid.

“Providing educational opportunities for producers is one of the board’s strategic goals,” said ALB Chairman Jeff Ebert. “These grazing workshops have been successful in helping producers across the country learn about opportunities to graze sheep on solar projects as a way to increase herd size and maximize profitability.”

The workshop curriculum focused on the details of contract grazing while also offering producers resources to adopt sheep management best practices on their farms. Attendees had the chance to network and discuss different aspects of grazing programs.

Since 2023, the Maryland sheep population has declined to an estimated 16,000 animals despite a strong consumer market in the region.

“Helping producers find and utilize new grazing opportunities is one way we can keep using farmlands in the region and work to increase production,” said Camren Maierle, ALB sustainability director. “Partnering with Urban Grid is opening up new opportunities for shepherds to graze on solar arrays in Maryland and across the country.”

At the event in Maryland, the Urban Grid team discussed the importance of partnering with shepherds across the US to manage vegetation and keep farmland productive for American lamb. Producers visited a solar array where sheep will be used to control vegetation once construction is finished. Brock Phillips, the agrivoltaics manager at Urban Grid, estimated that the 300-acre site could support 1,000 ewes in its first year of operation.

Urban Grid is a top independent power producer developing projects in Eastern Maryland that will cover over 1,000 acres and support a significant number of sheep to control vegetation.

ALB will host two more Targeted Grazing Workshops in 2025: in Denver, Colo., in September and Kentucky in October.

Source: American Lamb Board