I saw a vlog that interviewed local farmers that were trying to be diverse planting strawberries and veggies. They explained that they were barely making it, but if they just planted corn the subsidies would kick in and they’re make a lot more.
The supply chain for food is heavily dependent on diesel. All machinery on farms is diesel, and the trucks that move the food to silos then mills then factories and then shops are all diesel.
Presently there’s no real substitute for that machinery. Sure it might be technically possible to construct an electric tractor or truck but it’s not economically viable at this time.
The subsidies don’t really serve to make fossil fuels continue to be viable, it’s more like a measure to avoid sudden inflation due to fluctuations in the price of diesel.
A diesel engine can literally run on vegetable oil. We don’t need fossil fuel subsidies to keep farm tractors working.
If we must distort the market directly, we should do so on the demand side. Give farmers a per-Joule fuel subsidy, and let them use petro-disel, bio-disel, or electric as the market may provide.
🤣🤣🤣🤣
There are dozens of companies making electric tractors, AND in a rural area it is much more viable to have solar panels than to rely on the next diesel delivery, or make long trips to the nearest filling station.
Areas with solar panels are even posting higher crop yields.
I think you misunderstand the economic choice that smaller farms are making. When you can get a 50 year old workhorse tractor for 20k that you can actually maintain yourself, it makes far more sense than any 200k+ tractor whether diesel or electric. Additionally folks are used to diesel, they’ve already got a big tank on the property that they refill every few months, and they might not have sufficient electrical connection to get several of the giant swapable battery packs for their tractors and keep one on the charge while they work.
If farmers were starting from scratch, sure it might make sense to go all solar and all electric, but these are folks who are constantly squeezed for cash, constantly relying on crop insurance and well-timed loans and subsidies to stay afloat living on 200 year old farms that have been in the family since the land was stolen from the native Americans, and probably still using the equipment dad bought in the 60s and 70s because that’s the most financially viable option.
Fossil fuel subsidies. No longer needed since we have more viable alternatives, and they just contribute to global warming, and litter.
farm subsidies too, the only reason they are even here is because its a large voting block.
I saw a vlog that interviewed local farmers that were trying to be diverse planting strawberries and veggies. They explained that they were barely making it, but if they just planted corn the subsidies would kick in and they’re make a lot more.
I’m not sure that’s true.
The supply chain for food is heavily dependent on diesel. All machinery on farms is diesel, and the trucks that move the food to silos then mills then factories and then shops are all diesel.
Presently there’s no real substitute for that machinery. Sure it might be technically possible to construct an electric tractor or truck but it’s not economically viable at this time.
The subsidies don’t really serve to make fossil fuels continue to be viable, it’s more like a measure to avoid sudden inflation due to fluctuations in the price of diesel.
A diesel engine can literally run on vegetable oil. We don’t need fossil fuel subsidies to keep farm tractors working.
If we must distort the market directly, we should do so on the demand side. Give farmers a per-Joule fuel subsidy, and let them use petro-disel, bio-disel, or electric as the market may provide.
Either we believe that markets work or we don’t
🤣🤣🤣🤣 There are dozens of companies making electric tractors, AND in a rural area it is much more viable to have solar panels than to rely on the next diesel delivery, or make long trips to the nearest filling station.
Areas with solar panels are even posting higher crop yields.
I think you misunderstand the economic choice that smaller farms are making. When you can get a 50 year old workhorse tractor for 20k that you can actually maintain yourself, it makes far more sense than any 200k+ tractor whether diesel or electric. Additionally folks are used to diesel, they’ve already got a big tank on the property that they refill every few months, and they might not have sufficient electrical connection to get several of the giant swapable battery packs for their tractors and keep one on the charge while they work.
If farmers were starting from scratch, sure it might make sense to go all solar and all electric, but these are folks who are constantly squeezed for cash, constantly relying on crop insurance and well-timed loans and subsidies to stay afloat living on 200 year old farms that have been in the family since the land was stolen from the native Americans, and probably still using the equipment dad bought in the 60s and 70s because that’s the most financially viable option.
Ahahah, tractor you can maintain yourself. In America. What a joke