Legislature Approves $215 million in Agricultural Equipment Upgrades

With only a few days left in the 2021 legislative session, the California State Legislature voted to approve a budget proposal that included over $215 million dollars dedicated to incentive programs. These programs focus on the replacement of Tier 0’s, 1’s and 2’s level equipment, and pay a percentage of the cost for a Tier 4 piece of equipment.

The popular FARMER Funding program will receive $170 million for this next year, with that chunk of money being split amongst all agricultural representative Air Districts. An additional funding allocation of $45 million was provided to the Carl Moyer Program. The Carl Moyer program is split amongst several funding programs that all target older, diesel-fired equipment. The FARMER Funding has been instrumental in helping the San Joaquin Valley replace a massive amount of older diesel equipment.

The San Joaquin Valley faces a mandatory rule to replace all Tier 0, 1 and 2 tractors and would require tractor fleets be reported to CARB similar to the Truck and Bus Regulation.

This proposed regulation is avoided if the agricultural industry is able to replace 12,000 tractors, or reduce emissions by a proposed 11 tons/day. CARB staff has recognized the extensive work that agriculture has been able to achieve, CARB has recommended supporting future incentive funding efforts to help achieve this goal. If you need any assistance in your incentive program application, please feel free to reach out to the Association for help.