The California Air Resources Board has updated the guidelines for a program incentivizing growers to upgrade older tractors, trucks, pumps and other equipment to cleaner, low-emission models.
Farm groups have celebrated the program known as Funding Agricultural Replacement Measures for Emission Reductions, or FARMER, for its voluntary approach and for helping the San Joaquin Valley meet federal air quality standards, urging the board to steer away from directly regulating farm equipment.
The updates to the FARMER guidelines expand eligibility for used zero-emission equipment for small farmers and streamline the grant process for the regional air districts distributing the funding, among other revisions that add more flexibility.
Since 2018 CARB, air districts and the agriculture industry have partnered to administer more than $760 million in grants and replace more than 10,000 vehicles, engines and equipment through FARMER. Adding in the state’s flagship Carl Moyer Program and the USDA Environmental Quality Incentives Program, the triumvirate has spent more than $2 billion over the last 20 years, with a 50/50 match from private investments, amounting to 22,000 agricultural diesel engines replaced since 1998.
FARMER projects have reduced emissions of fine particulates by 1,650 tons, nitrous oxide by 28,000 tons and carbon dioxide equivalent by 389,000 tons. Two-thirds of the funding has benefitted vulnerable communities, and a third of the projects are on farms of 100 acres or less. Most of the funding has gone to tractors and other off-road vehicles, with 77% of the projects replacing the dirtiest diesel engines, at Tier 0 or 1. The program has continually been oversubscribed in most air districts.
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“Agriculture is an ever-evolving field and farmers are continuously adopting more efficient, sustainable methods and equipment,” said Aaron Tarango, grant program manager at the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, during a CARB hearing on the updates last week. “The FARMER program has not only acknowledged this but embraced it.”
Replaced tractors are scrapped to prevent emissions. (CARB)Jorge Camacho, grant supervisor at the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District, added that the current program guidelines are not equipped to adapt to the changing technology landscape and that new CARB regulations, like the Advanced Clean Fleets and zero-emission forklift rules, have increased the administrative burden for district staff.
Melissa Koshlaychuk, a government affairs analyst at the Western Growers Association, called the grants critical to the industry, since California farmers face a level of regulations not seen anywhere else in the country.
She cited cost and return studies by agricultural economists at the University of California, Davis, to stress that the dollar-for-dollar match in FARMER is impressive.
“Just in 2024 alone, a fair amount of [growers] are operating in the negative when we look at profit margins,” said Koshlaychuk. “So that money is a lot. It speaks volumes about the commitment of the agricultural industry to match CARB’s commitment to reducing emission reductions.”
Lobbying on behalf of a variety of agricultural clients through the firm Kahn, Soares & Conway, Taylor Roschen described the program as one of the most successful and cost-effective solutions to help the sector transition to the cleanest available technology.
“What is proven is that incentives in the ag sector work and we move faster and further together,” said Roschen.
The seasonal nature of farming means the equipment only sees intermittent use, and California’s specialty crop production requires highly customized machines. She said those factors make it difficult for farmers to take the financial risk to scrap their current equipment and replace it with expensive new ones.
“With most commodity prices being at an all-time low right now and the average family farm being overly extended in loans, margins have become even tighter,” she said. “So the FARMER program provides an important pathway forward, including for our smallest farms in California.”
Roschen noted the “incredibly hard” work farm lobbyists have invested in persuading the Legislature to approve funding every year for the grants and said “obviously, we would like to see more zeros on the end of this year's appropriation.” FARMER received a $363 million allocation last year, but a severe state budget deficit required policymakers to pull back funding for incentive programs across agencies. Agricultural groups were able to secure $2 million at the end of the legislative session, enough money to keep the program alive for another year.
Roschen highlighted the industry’s partnership with the California Energy Commission to update the agricultural emissions inventory to better reflect the strides in reducing pollutants from FARMER.
Lobbyist Erin Norwood said the Almond Alliance was very pleased with the updated guidelines, since 70% of its 7,600 members operate on 100 acres or less and 90% are family owned.
While industry and CARB board members alike broadly praised the program, the environmental justice community has been pushing for direct regulating agricultural equipment to rapidly force the conversion to zero emissions.
“Especially in the San Joaquin Valley, what we really need is an ag equipment regulation that will get the very worst equipment out of service,” said Christian Bisher, an advocate for the Central California Environmental Justice Network who raised skepticism over the cost effectiveness of FARMER.
Earlier this month, activists attempted to shut down industry representatives by demanding the state enact a regulation and abandon the incentive-based approach.
The San Joaquin Valley Center for Air Injustice Reduction at the University of California, Merced, earlier this month hosted an air quality conference to share research and discuss policy. Environmental justice advocates seized on the chance to attack agriculture, according to Roger Isom, president and CEO of the Western Agricultural Processors Association, who spoke at the conference.
Isom attempted to explain how farmers cannot pass the cost for new equipment on to consumers, prompting the crowd to retort, “We want to see your profits.”
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