After land, equipment is often the biggest capital expense for farmers. Healthy soils practices like composting and cover cropping require specialized and often expensive equipment. Farmers, especially small-scale and underserved farmers, often find these upfront costs a barrier to using healthy soils practices.
Equipment-sharing programs can help alleviate these challenges around upfront costs and risk by allowing farmers to access equipment needed to implement healthy soils practices and support farm viability. We have heard consistently from our partners around the state that they see equipment sharing as a critical tool to support the adoption of climate resilient practices and support farm viability.
New Funds Available for Equipment-Sharing Programs
For several years, CalCAN and Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) have advocated for state resources to support equipment sharing through legislative efforts, including AB 552 and AB 2313, which were both authored by Assemblymember Steve Bennett. Last year, we successfully secured $15 million for an equipment-sharing grant program in the climate bond, Prop 4, which was passed by California voters last November. The Governor’s January budget proposal included $200,000 for the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to begin program design this year, with $14M proposed for FY 26-27 to implement the program and award grants. Reflecting the program vision laid out by AB 552 and AB 2313, CDFA’s Farmer Equity Office will work in collaboration with the Office of Environmental Innovation to design the program.
Strong Need and Interest Across the State in Equipment Sharing
Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs) across the state and the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) are a critical source of technical assistance for small growers interested in adopting healthy soils practices, making them important partners for equipment sharing efforts.
Several years ago, the California Association of Resource Conservation Districts surveyed their members and found the overwhelming majority of RCDs who responded saw an urgent need for farm equipment rental programs. Since then, CalCAN has connected with a number of RCDs and UCCE staff who have identified this need and expressed interest in supporting equipment sharing.
Equipment availability and needs vary around the state, but stakeholders we’ve interviewed often identify several pieces of equipment as most needed to support healthy soils practices.
Fresno County
Small diversified fruit/vegetable farmers in Fresno who received Healthy Soils Program (HSP) incentive grants to spread compost often could not afford the necessary equipment and struggled to find contractors in their region who were willing to take on smaller jobs. Some of these farmers also faced language barriers in trying to find contractors. In response, the UCCE Small Farms team in Fresno was able to help address this need through an equipment-sharing program. For the past five years, the team has worked to help Fresno small farmers, predominantly in the Hmong farming community, with HSP grants to spread compost. UCCE Fresno, with the help of philanthropic funding, purchased a compost spreader and mini compost spreader, front loader tractor, trailer, seeder, and truck to transport equipment. Small Farms team staff transport the equipment and work with farmers to complete the necessary safety training and ensure farmers are comfortable using the new equipment. Access to compost spreading equipment also allows growers who utilize crop rotation to apply their compost field by field, which is not economically feasible if growers need to pay contractors for several small jobs on different dates. Marianna Castiaux, Academic Coordinator for the Small Farms team in Fresno, shared, “Without access to this equipment, implementing compost applications and cover crops would be economically impossible for these small-scale farmers.”
Placer County
Placer RCD also sees the need and value of equipment sharing for their region’s orchard growers, vegetable producers, and cattle ranchers, particularly HSP and NRCS grant recipients. The RCD surveyed their district and found the majority of grower respondents were interested and identified no-till drills, manure spreaders, and orchard chippers as priority needs. This equipment can help with cover cropping, rangeland planting, conservation cover, compost spreading, and whole orchard recycling.
Solano County
Solano RCD has seen how equipment can be a barrier to using healthy soils practices. Amy King, Ag and Water Program Manager, shared: “Especially for small farmers, it is hard to promote innovation and not have all the tools necessary to have that happen. It is by definition, an expensive hurdle to overcome, even with HSP. But the best way to help people experiment with new stuff is to get them the new stuff. It’s the missing puzzle piece of promoting adoption of potentially riskier new practices.” In their region, she sees a need for seed drills, compost spreaders, mowers, and roller crimpers.
North Bay
Both Marin RCD and Gold Ridge RCDs own and rent out no-till drills. Both Marin and Gold Ridge RCDs have compact no-till drills suited primarily for rangeland and pasture uses, primarily geared towards small-scale producers with variable topography. The Gold Ridge drill has been used to sow cover crops on the edges of croplands. These tools enable growers in the region to plant cover crops and range plantings in a manner that improves soil‐aggregate formation, microbial activity in the soil, as well as water infiltration and storage. Marin RCD and Gold Ridge RCD both shared that there is also a high need for compost spreading across their region, where there are few contractors available and costs are very high, and for tractor implements for weed management.
Madera County
Matt Angell who is a grower, water well and pump expert, and vice chair of Madera/Chowchilla RCD, sees equipment sharing as a critical tool for small farmers in the San Joaquin Valley to stay viable. He sees opportunities for the RCD to invest in equipment to help growers map soil variability to provide more targeted nutrient and irrigation management.
Support for Equipment-Sharing Programs
To support equipment-sharing programs, RCDs have shared that they need funding to help with equipment purchases and strategies and partnerships to address liability, training, equipment maintenance, and storage. RCDs are eager to bring their grower relationships and technical expertise to such collaborations.
We are tracking existing equipment-sharing programs and interest in creating equipment-sharing programs across the state! If you or your organization has a program or is exploring creating one, please reach out.
Back in 2023, we shared a profile on the California Plowshares, an equipment-sharing program on the Central Coast and south San Joaquin Valley. You can read that profile here.
