Letter to the Editor
In 2025 farmers, land owners, and residents of Hardy County helped establish a new zoning ordinance for Hardy County. They were visionaries for our future establishing agricultural and residential zoned areas making sure that future to come could enjoy the beauty and resources Hardy County is blessed with.
Now fast forward to the present you will find that the Old Fields area has been dumped on with 704 ft industrial size poultry houses and a disposal plant on the main highway leading in and out of Old Fields and now few farmers are willing to lease their land out and establishing a proposed 2500 acre solar panel farm in the old fields basin that has a lifespan of at least 30 years covering up prime agricultural soil.
The main contractor, MN8 Energy will try and change the zoning in Old Fields and has offered upfront monies (known as the bribe) only to those in the impacted areas as long as they say nothing disparaging in regards to the solar farms from at least 30 years the solar farms are expected to be in operation.
Solar farms offer nothing for Hardy County or Old Fields in facet in the end it will cost us all, home values and property values will decline, county revenues will decline resulting in more taxes lithium batteries stored in the Old Fields area will cause homeowners policies to increase due to the added risk of fire in the area , tourism will decline causing a decline in tax revenue and at the end of the 30 years the residents of Old Fields and Hardy County will be looking at 2500 acres of retired solar panels and the soil beneath those panels will be unsuitable for agricultural purpose.
Together we can stop the dumping and keep the vision of good stewardship of our land for future generations to enjoy. Call or write our representatives, talk to your neighbor, sign the petition and stay informed. Help stop the few willing to cost us all.
Lloyd S. Fultz Jr
