Embroidered on J. Michael Moore’s pine green hooded sweatshirt is the Norbut Farms logo. Beneath it the phrase, “The farm of tomorrow.” That’s the core belief throughout the grounds of the agriculture division that Moore, general farm manager, runs at Norbut Solar Farms in Spencerport. The Kentucky native pioneered the first solar grazing program at utility scale back in his home state, and after seeing the impact of this agrivoltaic method (placing solar panels on farmland to aid coproduction of agriculture and electricity), Moore saw the untapped potential in New York.
“Kentucky is still pretty combative, as a state, as communities, as individuals. So I knew I could make more of an impact in Rochester,” Moore said “Solar is smaller, but more prolific and much further across the state than Kentucky, and as this industry continues to grow I have a few of the answers to manage land.”
Solar grazing is considered a sustainable method to manage vegetation on farms, primarily utilizing livestock such as sheep to maintain the grounds. This allows the land to remain productive, which is a common misconception of solar farms.
“It starts with sheep, and then it expands outward,” said Moore.
The regenerative farming method at Norbut began as a wellness program to feed its employees during the pandemic, and has grown beyond sheep to include a tropical greenhouse, hogs, goats and cattle — along with some other unexpected crops.
“(In our) tropical greenhouse we’re growing fruiting bananas, limes, peppercorns, very rare plants, and we do that using geothermal and rainwater collection systems,” said Moore.
Inside the 80º structure, yuzu trees grow beside Greek olives. Pineapples bloom opposite agave plants and tall sugar cane just misses the ceiling.
“It’s really like I work in a jungle,” said Chris DiDio, farm assistant for Norbut. “We’re building a full ecosystem, down to the insects.”
The diverse farmscape has provided fresh and unique produce for myriad plates in the community, supplying businesses like Lucky’s, Dough Boyz Pizza, Wildflour and Foodlink with protein, produce and herbs.
Kayleigh Moriarty, flower and operation lead at Norbut and server at Lucky’s in the North Winton Village neighborhood, said the marriage of the two worlds is a special, full circle moment to not only witness but take part in.
“To harvest it, to bring it to the restaurant, to watch them use it, garnish it with those spicy microgreens and then bring it to a table — it really starts a cool conversation,” Moriarty said.
The goal with solar farm development is to create a positive impact for farmers. Even as lucrative leasing deals have become a subject of concern believed to lead farmers to reduce farming operations or give up on farming altogether, a February 2026 report by Cornell University showed that New York farmers were three times more likely to invest solar revenue back into their farms, and nearly half of the farmers did not plan to change their agricultural practices at all.
Combine these findings with the National Corn Growers Association’s February 2026 report that monocrop farmers are entering a fourth year of decline, citing cash flow pressures resulting in farms to rely on off-premise work to stay afloat. The agrivoltaic model at Norbut looks to become a blueprint of relief for farmers, the land and community.
“This initial site has become a model to showcase, if it’s going to be developed into solar, how a whole farm system can interact to remain productive, feed our homes energy, but also feed ourselves using the same land,” said Moore “If it’s community solar, it can also be a community foodscape — it doesn’t have to be one or the other.” norbutsolarfarms.com
Roberto Felipe Lagares is CITY’s multimedia reporter and has an unruly amount of film cameras on his person at all times. You can follow him @bertoscamera.
