HISTORY
with Helen Livingston
Maxton, NC
ECONOMIC SECURITY MEANS A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR HELEN LIVINGSTON'S FAMILY FARM
In North Carolina, individual families own nearly 90% of the farms spread across 8.4 million acres of land throughout the state. Helen Livingston’s 300 acre Robeson County farm has been a part of her family for generations. Lately, periods of drought followed by periods of excess rain are making the farmland harder to plow. That, coupled with falling commodity prices, is making it more difficult for the farm to be profitable. Because of this, Helen says she was “thrilled” when she was approached in 2011 about leasing 44 acres of her farmland to Strata Solar. The twenty year lease allows her to supplement her income and avoid selling her farm, something she says she would never consider due to its rich history.
This farm has been in the family longer than we can trace back. We would never consider selling, so our solar lease is really good, and the land is really good. If anything or anybody else had come along, we would have said no. But we know
the value of clean energy, and to promote it in this area meant a
lot to us."
Helen Livingston
HELEN
LIVINGSTON
ON SOLAR PANELS
They’re the best neighbors you can have. They’re quiet. They’re not a bunch of loud housing developments. They really are really good neighbors."
Helen Livingston