The governor’s May Revise has added another $43 million for FARMER, the state’s program for replacing aging farm equipment with lower-emission models. The $363 million proposed for the next two years is “not enough to meet this state’s own unrealistic mandates,” according to the Western Agricultural Processors Association (WAPA) in a statement.
“Without this incentive money, agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley would be faced with a mandatory tractor replacement regulation much like the state’s truck regulation,” argues the trade group for tree nut hullers and processors.
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The Air Resources Board, meanwhile, has called for $193 million in grant funding over the next four years to meet the mandate.
WAPA also claimed the $150 million proposed for finding alternatives to agricultural burning is much less than the $290 million the industry has called for.
