Blue Diamond Almond Facts March-April 2021

ADVOCACY REPORT The End of Ag Burning in California — Breaking Down the Recent CARB Decision The Issue Since the passage of SB 705 (2003 Florez), the agricultural industry has worked with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (District) for the last 15 years to reduce agricultural burning by more than 80 percent. The remaining situations have remained exempted because either no alternative solutions have been developed (e.g. how can vines with wire be incorporated into the soil ? ) or the existing alternatives are cost prohibitive (e.g., small and disadvantaged farms). While alternatives to ag burning have been found for most situations through the development of solutions like whole orchard recycling for orchard removals, chipping of prunings, and chipped wood for bioenergy, further progress has been hampered by the pace of closures of biomass plants, and the inability to get alternative technologies (e.g. cellulosic ethanol, renewable diesel, biochar) off-the-ground to provide needed biomass solutions. In December of 2020, the District staff presented their report and recommendations on agricultural burning to their board proposing further reductions in acreage and crop types that can be burned. The board adopted the report although further restrictions would be difficult to meet; the report was then transmitted to the California Air Resources Board (CARB). The Almond Alliance worked with other trade organizations impacted by the District’s recommendations in preparation for the upcoming CARB meeting. CARB Board Meeting At the February 25 th CARB meeting, several Almond Alliance members provided in-person testimony and submitted written comments on how eliminating all agriculture burning, without any exceptions or extensions was not realistic without making alternatives and options available to small growers. Many small growers explained how they are unable to secure the needed chipping and shredding services due to their size and limited acreage. Others End Rows 2 0 A L M O N D F A C T S