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Success Stories

‘We’re making energy’: Somerset farmer sees success with solar

Daniel Blottenberger
Solar Energy
Richard Perkoski (left), owner of Main Street Milk LLC, Bob Morgan (middle), state director of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development in Pennsylvania, and USDA Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Xochitl Torres Small, speak to a small crowd at the Main Street Milk Farm in Somerset, Pa., on Nov. 3, 2024.
Richard Perkoski (left), owner of Main Street Milk LLC, Bob Morgan (middle), state director of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development in Pennsylvania, and USDA Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Xochitl Torres Small, speak to a small crowd at the Main Street Milk Farm in Somerset, Pa., on Nov. 3, 2024. The farm and dairy business was highlighted during a USDA Rural Development nationwide announcement for their solar project that was part of the Rural Energy for America Program. During the event, the USDA announced investments of $104 million in loans and grants that will support over 300 clean energy projects in 34 states. Many of the projects are funded by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the nation’s largest-ever investment in combating the climate crisis. The projects also advance President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda to grow the nation’s economy from the middle out and the bottom up. USDA Media by Daniel Blottenberger.
Richard Perkoski (left), owner of Main Street Milk LLC, Bob Morgan (middle), state director of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development in Pennsylvania, and USDA Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Xochitl Torres Small (right), and State Executive Director, Heidi Secord (far right), of the Farm Service Agency, speak to a small crowd at the Main Street Milk Farm in Somerset, Pa., on Nov. 3, 2024.
Richard Perkoski (left), owner of Main Street Milk LLC, Bob Morgan (middle), state director of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development in Pennsylvania, and USDA Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Xochitl Torres Small (right), and State Executive Director, Heidi Secord (far right), of the Farm Service Agency, speak to a small crowd at the Main Street Milk Farm in Somerset, Pa., on Nov. 3, 2024. The farm and dairy business was highlighted during a USDA Rural Development nationwide announcement for their solar project that was part of the Rural Energy for America Program. During the event, the USDA announced investments of $104 million in loans and grants that will support over 300 clean energy projects in 34 states. Many of the projects are funded by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the nation’s largest-ever investment in combating the climate crisis. The projects also advance President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda to grow the nation’s economy from the middle out and the bottom up. The farm’s solar project can be seen in the background. USDA Media by Daniel Blottenberger.

Somerset County famer Rich Perkoski is all smiles about the solar project on the roof of his barn on his several-hundred acre farm. 

Rich received a $110,208 Rural Energy for America grant for the project. The Rural Development investment was obligated in 2023 to help Main Street Milk LLC, a dairy farming operation, purchase and install a 140.4-kilowatt (kW) solar photovoltaic system. 

Since the solar panels were installed, Main Street Milk’s electricity bill has decreased from $2,500 a month to just $74, Mr. Perkoski said. It’s a stark difference for a farm staffed by five employees managing 300 cows.

The panels power the farm’s electricity, heating and milking processes, providing energy to milk cows with a vacuum pump and keep fresh milk cold, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. The farm has been in operation since 2015.

“It’s going to lower the cost to operate, so that will make the farm more profitable to buy more cows, plant more crops and buy electric tractors,” Perkoski said.
Since installing the panels, the farm has already purchased additional lighting for the barn and plans to buy more cows, employees said.

The average age of farmers is on the rise, USDA Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small said during a visit to the farm to make a national program announcement. Federal investments can help farms cut costs to ensure their future survival.

Mr. Perkoski, who has spent a decade at Main Street Milk, said he hopes to pass down his farm one day because “it’s just the right thing to do.”

“When I talk with new and beginning farmers, they are concerned about the transition, too,” Small said on Oct. 3, 2024, during a visit to the farm. “How do we keep farmland in operation?”

“Your life’s work — your family’s life's work — continues to feed our nation, feed the world, and ensure our national security through food security. That’s why these investments matter.”

A small crowd gathers on the pasture at Main Street Milk Farm in Somerset, Pa., on Nov. 3, 2024, to see the farm’s roof mounted solar project.
A small crowd gathers on the pasture at Main Street Milk Farm in Somerset, Pa., on Nov. 3, 2024, to see the farm’s roof mounted solar project. Today, the farm and dairy business was highlighted during a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development nationwide announcement for their solar project that was part of the Rural Energy for America Program. During the event, the USDA announced investments of $104 million in loans and grants that will support over 300 clean energy projects in 34 states. Many of the projects are funded by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the nation’s largest-ever investment in combating the climate crisis. The projects also advance President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda to grow the nation’s economy from the middle out and the bottom up. USDA Media by Daniel Blottenberger.
Obligation Amount:
$110,208
Year(s) of Obligation:
Congressional District:
  • Pennsylvania: District 14