Arlo Hark and Josie Trople founded Cannon Valley Graziers in Northfield, Minnesota, in 2017, a company that uses sheep to graze under solar panels on over 6,500 acres across multiple states. The business offers services like Solar Grazing, Vegetation Management, and Forestry Restoration, reducing costs compared to mowing while enhancing soil health and biodiversity. Cannon Valley Graziers has gained recognition for its innovative approach and was named the 2026 Solar Ranchers of the Year by the North American Agrivoltaics Awards.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In 2017, Arlo Hark and Josie Trople founded Cannon Valley Graziers in Northfield, Minnesota. This company specializes in solar grazing, where sheep are used to manage vegetation under solar panels instead of using chemical herbicides or mowers. By 2026, their business had covered over 6,500 acres across solar farms in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and other parts of the United States. The company rotates its flock across multiple sites each season, providing a sustainable vegetation management solution for solar farm operators. Cannon Valley Graziers also offers services like forestry restoration and has sister ventures named Tethera and Bayl. Their innovative approach to integrating livestock farming with renewable energy infrastructure is gaining recognition; they were recently honored as the 2026 Solar Ranchers of the Year by the North American Agrivoltaics Awards.
Written for “Solar Farms And Sheep Grazing” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
In 2017, Arlo Hark and Josie Trople founded Cannon Valley Graziers in Northfield, Minnesota, as a dedicated solar grazing operation.
asserted
Hark → found → operation
According to the North American Agrivoltaics Awards, the business has now grazed more than 6,500 acres of solar farms for developers, operators and owners.
uncertain
business → accord → developers
Its flock rotates across dozens of sites each season in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa, with further sites in the western and central United States.
asserted
flock → rotate → States
The company offers Solar Grazing, Vegetation Management and Forestry Restoration, and has two sister ventures, Tethera and Bayl.
asserted
company → offer → ventures
The pair have been named the 2026 Solar Ranchers of the Year.
asserted
pair → name → Year
How Minnesota farmers started solar grazing
Arlo and Josie founded Cannon Valley Graziers in Northfield, Minnesota, in 2017.
asserted
Arlo → start → 2017
It describes the business as a dedicated solar grazing operation that has now grazed more than 6,500 acres of solar farms for developers, operators and owners.
asserted
that → describe → developers
The business started in the upper Midwest.
asserted
business → start → Midwest
Cannon Valley Graziers now rotates its flock across dozens of sites each season in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa, and also grazes solar farms further afield in the western and central United States.
asserted
Graziers → rotate → States
How grazing-based vegetation management works
The company's work now spans three service lines: Solar Grazing, Vegetation Management and Forestry Restoration.
asserted
work → base → lines
It describes Arlo and Josie as experts with applied experience in the field, who have combined these services into a single offering of grazing-based vegetation management.
asserted
who → describe → management
This approach costs less than mowing.
asserted
approach → cost → less
It also builds soil health and biodiversity rather than simply suppressing growth, and it keeps working land working with natural systems.
asserted
it → build → systems
The citation says this operating model has earned Cannon Valley Graziers coverage from Bloomberg, Minnesota Public Radio and other media.
asserted
model → say → Bloomberg
How the couple expanded the business
Arlo holds a board seat at the American Solar Grazing Association.
asserted
Arlo → expand → Association
It says he shares leadership responsibilities with other board members and passes on the field-tested lessons that he and Josie have learned over the nearly ten years of building the business, which the citation says now has a footprint across the country.
asserted
citation → say → country
The couple have launched two sister ventures: Tethera, which focuses on meat, and Bayl, which focuses on renewable fibre.
asserted
which → launch → fibre
Both turn the flock's vegetation-management work into finished products, so that the business draws on food, renewable fibre and fashion, and grazing.
asserted
business → turn → food
Arlo and Josie, as younger farmers with a young family, say their experience shows that solar grazing can give the next generation of agricultural producers access to working land.
asserted
grazing → say → land
It names land access as a problem that prevents many would-be farmers and ranchers from getting started.
asserted
that → name → farmers
The Aporia
