Across the two years, pasture beneath the panels produced 38 percent less herbage than the open field, with the fully shaded strips directly beneath the panels growing thinnest.

That figure describes pasture production, not the amount each lamb ate.

Thank you, Captain Obvious? Trying to clear up a misconception that nobody actually has just ends up creating more confusion. I find myself rereading the previous sentences to make sure I didn't miss something. This seems to be a fairly common AI writing pattern that would best be removed by a human editor.