Valley farmers get more money to buy cleaner-burning tractors
It’s crunch time for farmers who want to replace tractors with cleaner-burning models.
A $2.48 million federal grant announced this week will help with the cost of 187 new tractors – but only if the applicants verify that the old ones are dismantled at a scrap yard. That rule assures that the machine does not show up elsewhere and continue to pollute the air.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provided the money to the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. It was on top of $1 million awarded through a different program last month to replace 75 tractors.
“With this financial assistance, EPA and San Joaquin Valley farmers are working together to improve air quality and promote the use of clean, cutting-edge tractors,” said Jared Blumenfeld, regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest, in announcing the grant in Fresno.
To date, the program has helped buy more than 2,200 tractors, and sent an equal number of old polluters to the scrap heap.
“Destruction is a huge part of what we do,” a district official said at a 2013 meeting on the program in Modesto. “We like to chop things up.”
This week’s announcement includes another $2.48 million to help Valley residents purchase 2,484 clean-burning wood stoves. More information on this and the tractor money are at www.valleyair.org/grants or 559-230-5800.
The federal Natural Resources Conservation Service also has a tractor replacement program. For details, visit www.ca.nrcs.usda.gov or call 209-491-9320 in Stanislaus County, 209-472-7127 in San Joaquin County, or 209-722-4119 in Merced County.
Elsewhere on the Farm Beat:
About 75 members of Future Farmers of America spent part of Veterans Day in service to service members.
They cleaned headstones and planted drought-tolerant trees and flowers at the San Joaquin Valley Veterans Cemetery in Santa Nella. The volunteers are agriculture students at 13 schools in Merced, Mariposa, Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Tuolumne, Yolo and Sacramento counties.
“It is an honor to pay our respects to the many men and woman who have given their lives in service for our freedom through the beautification of their resting place,” said Alexandria Lopes, the Merced/Mariposa section president, in a news release.
The FFA Central Region also donated $500 to buy plants.
John Holland: 209-578-2385, jholland@modbee.com
This story was originally published November 13, 2015 at 5:15 PM with the headline "Valley farmers get more money to buy cleaner-burning tractors."