In New Jersey, farmland is helping researchers explore whether ranching and solar energy can successfully share the same land. In the center of the project is a small herd of cows grazing between rows of vertical solar panels, which were installed without replacing the grass underneath.
As the cows continue their normal routine of feeding, resting and moving around the field, scientists are monitoring how the panels affect both the animals and the farm field.According to the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station: Rutgers Agricultural Experiments program, which tracks where cows choose to graze, rest and seek shade, while also measuring pasture quality, the project hopes to understand whether the land can continue to support healthy livestock without giving up its role in producing renewable energy.
How cows in New Jersey prove that farmland can produce food and electricity
The project is part of Rutgers University’s Agricultural Energy Research Program, which explores ways to use farmland to produce food and solar energy.Unlike tilted solar panels typically seen alongside roads or on dedicated solar farms, these panels stand vertically. They are also bi-facial, meaning they collect sunlight from both sides. This arrangement leaves wide areas of pasture between each row, giving livestock room to graze while allowing farm machinery to continue working.
Rather than treating livestock as a barrier to renewable energy, the experiment asks whether grazing animals can remain a normal part of a solar-powered site.
How Blossom, Misty, and Flurry help scientists study livestock behavior
The cattle in question belong to Rutgers University’s teaching herd, where they are already being used for undergraduate agricultural education. Four Angus cows: Ideal, Queen, Weasel and Blossom graze alongside two Hereford cows, Misty and Florie.For researchers, the daily habits of cows are as important as the grass beneath them.
Cameras placed around the site take images every five minutes, creating a detailed record of where each animal spends its time. This allows the team to compare whether cattle prefer areas near solar panels, remain in open pastures, or congregate under specially built shade shelters instead.The study also examines whether different layouts affect behavior. Some rows of panels stand closer together than others, while the space under the panels varies across sections of the site.
These subtle differences in design can affect how freely cattle can move around the pasture.
Computer: Rutgers Agrivoltics Program
Can pastures remain productive under solar panels?
The research is not limited to animals. The grass itself is under close observation.Vertical solar panels cast shifting bands of shade as the sun moves across the sky, creating small variations in temperature, humidity and light levels. These changes may change how quickly the forage grows or affect its nutritional value for grazing livestock.If pasture quality remains strong under these conditions, farmers are likely to continue raising livestock without sacrificing productive grazing land for energy infrastructure. The answer is unlikely to be the same for every site, which is why detailed measurements throughout the growing season are as important as the electricity generated above the field.
How can one field produce food and renewable energy?
The experimental site was carefully organized so that different solar schemes could be compared under similar conditions.Three separate replicated blocks have multiple panel configurations along with control paddocks without any solar panels. In each configuration, the rows vary in spacing and ground clearance, making it possible to compare how design choices affect vegetation and livestock behavior.Having replicates of each ranking also enhances the statistical reliability of the results, reducing the possibility that differences are simply the result of weather or natural variation between pastures.
The experiment reflects a broader question facing agriculture as demand for renewable energy continues to grow. Solar projects often compete with farmland, especially in areas where productive farmland is limited.Agrivoltaics offers a different approach by asking whether the same field can serve more than one purpose. If grazing remains intact and electricity continues to be produced efficiently, farmers may have another option to utilize their land without giving up livestock production.For now, Blossom, Misty, Flurry, and the rest of the herd simply follow familiar routines of grazing, resting, drinking, and moving across the pasture. These ordinary behaviors provide researchers with the evidence needed to understand whether carefully designed solar arrays can become a practical part of everyday agriculture rather than replace it.