{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The Moos Room™","title":"Episode 342 - Cows, Kilowatts, and Cool-Season Grasses: What Grows Best Under Solar? - UMN Extension's The Moos Room","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1082,"description":"This episode of The Moos Room dives into new research on agrivoltaics—specifically how forages perform when grown under solar panels in grazing systems. Brad shares results from a recent study evaluating multiple grass and legume species across different solar array designs compared to a traditional pasture.Overall, forage production depended heavily on species and shade level. Cool-season grasses like meadow fescue and orchardgrass performed well under solar panels, sometimes even producing more biomass than in open pasture. In contrast, warm-season species like sorghum-sudangrass struggled under shaded conditions. Legumes such as red clover maintained strong performance and contributed to improved forage quality.One of the biggest takeaways was that while heavier shade can reduce total biomass, it often improves forage quality. Grasses grown under solar panels showed higher crude protein and greater fiber digestibility, especially in more shaded systems. This suggests agrivoltaic systems can still produce high-quality feed, even when yield is slightly reduced.The episode highlights that selecting the right species—particularly shade-tolerant cool-season grasses and legume mixtures—is key to success in grazing-based solar systems. Ultimately, agrivoltaics offers a promising opportunity to combine livestock production with renewable energy, providing both high-quality forage and an additional revenue stream for farmers.Agrivoltaic arrays and effects of forage biomass and nutritive value of grasses and legumes for grazing dairy cattlehttps://www.jdscommun.org/article/S2666-9102(26)00073-6/fulltextAgrivoltaics Webinar Cattle and Kilowatts 4/14Sponsored by University of Minnesota ExtensionOur first webinar is April 14th, 2026 5pm CT.Register for the zoom link: z.umn.edu/cattlekilowattsCattle and kilowatts webinar: Real-world solar grazing in practiceJoin the University of Minnesota Extension for an in-depth webinar featuring pioneers of cattle solar grazing. This...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/EIqekZJUCM-mbRXSkEsLe4I4Erj3AsT3id_xoW-dk6k/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzE0MTkwLzE2OTc0/ODIyODEtYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}