You're right according to the article. Despite this:

> agricultural burning remains a major contributor to pollution, despite a law banning it in 2003.

There's this:

> It costs about $500 an acre to burn crops, but more than $1,000 an acre to chip and shred them.

> In August 2021, the San Joaquin Valley air district accepted $178 million in new state funding to incentivize alternative methods of managing ag waste, including grants to repurpose dead or abandoned crops into mulch.

I bet a lot of that $178MM went into matches and gasoline.

Possibly only that the cost isn't theirs to bear alone but the benefit is.