The Air Resources Board is racing to finalize a comprehensive air quality strategy by 2021. The Mobile Source Strategy addresses emissions from all vehicles—from trucks to tractors, harvesters, forklifts and truck refrigeration units. It also includes the governor’s executive order requiring all cars, trucks and off-road vehicles (like tractors) sold in California to be all-electric in 15 to 25 years.
In a recent comment letter, the Western Agricultural Processors Association (WAPA) called the goals unproven and “maybe not even possible.” The trade group argued the regulations upend current efforts to upgrade agricultural equipment in the San Joaquin Valley. The all-electric technology for many of these vehicles is also “at this point, not anywhere near cost-effective.”
WAPA summed up the cumulative impacts on agriculture as “causing significant economic harm to an industry” that cannot pass the costs on to the consumer due to “being subject to a world market price.”
