Typically, a landowner leases out a minimum of 25 - 50 acres to a solar developer. The rent is agreed and index linked to remain in line with the economy. This provides the farmer with a core guaranteed income over the lifetime of the project ( usually 25 years ).
It is not appropriate to use high grade agricultural land as this may affect food supply but a solar farm project can give valuable financial stability to an agricultural business. It also sits well with long term succession planning onto the next generation.
Solar farming also provides insurance against erratic weather and the all too often economic shocks of running a modern agricultural business.It can also be undertaken in combination with other farming practices subject to the appropriate local context; chickens, sheep, bees and alpacas all do well within a secure, fenced and managed solar farm project. The benefit here being dual use of land for food and crops in addition to clean energy production.