"Good Incentive" for Protecting Air Quality in California

The U.S. Department of Agriculture gave 510 Central Valley farmers grants totaling $5.5 million this year to adopt practices that are better for the air, such as replacing old diesel engines with cleaner-burning machines, officials said.

And there is more money to come, said Amy Rocha, of the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service. Farmers have until late January to apply for another $1.5 million.

Farmers who are awarded the grants must match the government funds dollar by dollar. But the Federal money helps, said Robert Disch, who traded two 30-year-old diesel irrigation pumps for shiny new models at a cost of $25,000.

"I didn't have to replace them. They worked pretty well. But it's nice to have clean-burning ones," said Disch, 73. "The money from USDA was a good incentive for people."

The program began in 1998 with just $294,000 and 35 farmers. Since then, it has helped to remove more than 2,179 tons of pollutants from the air, NRCS officials said.

San Jose Mercury News