Central Valley legislators protect ag industry through cap and trade

It’s no secret that California isn’t the easiest place to operate a business. However, very few laws have the power to single-handedly threaten poultry and other food processing operations. Yet that’s exactly what we were facing due to a law passed last year that requires California to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions dramatically by 2030. Poultry companies were facing one of the biggest threats in our history that could have decimated us and the Central Valley’s entire agriculture industry.

For many businesses, the only option to comply with this law would have been to either cut back on production – resulting in the thousands of jobs losses – or spend billions of the dollars on new equipment which would also cost many workers their jobs. Fortunately, there was a better solution available under a cap and trade system.

Thanks to Assemblyman Heath Flora’s and Senator Tom Berryhill’s support for California’s bipartisan cap and trade law, the Central Valley’s agriculture industry will be in a better position to continue as a huge economic engine for valley communities. This was a rare win-win for protecting the environment but also protecting jobs. It provides an important option to expensive mandates and instead allows us to reduce emissions from our facilities in the most cost-effective way. Collectively, it is estimated to save over $16 billion in taxes and regulations. Cap and trade means that we can continue employing our workers and partnering with family-owned farms across the region. It also includes tax credits to help us purchase more efficient equipment.

Because food prices are determined by a globally competitive market, agriculture in California must stay competitive to stay in existence. A fact of life for a farmer is that they don’t get to set their own prices. If the cost of doing business rises, there are few options to make up the difference. This makes the Central Valley’s agriculture industry particularly at risk for expensive government regulations, something that cap and trade protects us from. That’s why it’s supported by the California Poultry Federation, California Farm Bureau and many other agriculture organizations.

Without cap and trade, our producers and thousands of other companies would be mandated by state regulators to purchase specific types of new technology and spend millions of dollars upgrading equipment to try to reduce carbon emissions. Reminiscent of the Soviet Union’s command and control economy, regulators would have unchecked power to determine how we would run our business. Not only would this entrust an unprecedented amount of power in state government, it would also lead to billions of dollars in waste because we cannot expect regulators to mandate the right technology in every situation without making mistakes.

Companies could instead choose to cut back on production to meet their mandates, or leave the state entirely which is what many would likely do. If the state is mandating you to reduce pollution by 20 percent at your facility but current technology means only a 10 percent reduction is feasible, there is no other choice. This would have dramatic effect on unemployment and would kill middle class jobs in agriculture, manufacturing and countless other industries.

By supporting cap and trade Berryhill and Flora stepped up and saved jobs and billions of dollars for California’s agriculture and its consumers. Cap and trade utilizes the free market to cut pollution and the free market has been a foundation of the United States since our inception. Thank you Senator Berryhill and Assemblyman Flora for stepping up for the Central Valley.

This story was originally published July 25, 2017 at 6:21 PM with the headline "Central Valley legislators protect ag industry through cap and trade."