2. Fuel Economy Standards for Agricultural Equipment and Reduction of On-Farm Energy Use
Agriculture is estimated to consume at least 6% of the world’s fossil fuel energy.18 Nonetheless, EPA has yet to promulgate any standard for off-road diesel
223
vehicles, despite progressively tightening its fuel economy standards for lightduty vehicles.
Fuel efficiency for on-farm vehicles has consequently lagged. EPA should promulgate fuel economy standards for off-road diesel vehicles such as tractors to reduce their CO2 emissions, which remain a significant source of on-farm emissions. Since turnover among off-road vehicles is slower than turnover among light-duty vehicles, however, significant improvements in emissions reduction will be slow.Farm programs implemented by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) should also be designed to encourage farmers, preferably through incentives, to adopt less fuel-intensive practices. Tillage, for example, significantly increases CO2 emissions from agricultural equipment, since plowing significantly increases a tractor’s fuel requirements. A literature review found that tractors on no-till farms only emit one-sixth as much CO2 eq. as tractors on farms practicing complete tillage.19 Similarly, farmers and technology providers are developing systems to reduce the number of times tractors must go through fields by combining tasks, and are trying to increase the energy efficiency of motors, fans, pumps, and other farm equipment.
More on the topic 2. Fuel Economy Standards for Agricultural Equipment and Reduction of On-Farm Energy Use:
- 4. On-Farm Fuel Combustion and Electricity
- 1. Transformations in the Farm Economy
- Congress’ expressed purpose for supporting agricultural research and extension is not only to increase the productivity of agriculture,7 but also to “[maintain and enhance] the natural resource base on which rural America and the United States agricultural economy depend.”8
- Chapter VIII. Off-Farm Food System Emission Reduction Opportunities
- A. Farmers and the Farm Economy
- Methane and nitrous oxide are the two main greenhouse gases emitted by agricultural sources. EPA has several direct regulatory tools available to reduce emissions of these greenhouse gases, including recognizing the harm or “endangerment” caused by these pollutants and promulgating regulatory programs to require or support their reduction.
- The Need for Standards
- 1. Farms in the Rural Economy
- Freedom of contract and extra-legal standards
- “Agriculture” refers to the cultivation of crops and the raising of animals for the “4Fs”: food, feed, fuel, and fiber.
- Co-evolution of Roman Law and Economy
- 1 Co-evolution of Law and Economy
- 3. State-Level Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- 4. Farm Finance and Support
- 3. A More Accurate Assessment of Farm Income and Wealth
- Besides these internal distinctions, principles must also be distinguished, so to speak, externally, from other standards of behaviour that can be part of a legal system.