At some point economies of scale will present a problem. While BIG corporations will be able to "afford" new technologies the bulk of the world won't be able to. Reason being is that the bulk of the world's population isn't able to afford to take on additional debt (we can deny it all we want but we are debt saturated- if not for "hiding" bad loans it would be a lot more clear; bad loan write-off will occur and with it a reduction in over-all debt servicing abilities, especially affecting issuance for new debt).
So, yes, Big Ag probably will have a sense of a transition but I assure all that it will come at a BIG price. Expect BIG subsidies; meaning, tax hits to all. And eventually as the debt-carrying abilities further diminish food prices WILL rise. While this is long over due I'm afraid that it'll come at a point in time that will be a huge shock. IF "we" weren't so heavily debt-laden I could see this being pulled off. Insufficient numbers of younger folks able to work off our debt; the Ponzi unravels.
Raise your hand if you can afford another new tractor. And keep in mind that these would carry a significantly higher price tag than what existing fossil-fuel based ones currently sell for: and that would likely even be WITH a direct subsidy [the drain will be through some other hole in your pocket].
I'm NOT anti-EV, not at all. I'm just practical. I have a friend with an EV that is looking to go off-grid. He's figured that he won't be able to keep his EV (cost for scaling up his off-grid solar installation would be too great). And this guy is a HARDCORE solar/electric guy! I've got quite a bit of personal study in energy, but it's the economics that I've found really just aren't there to support it. (and, yes, the limits to fossil fuels and its environmental impacts ARE most certainly expensive, most likely more so, but because tech may be better in these regards that still doesn't mean that it's a viable "solution" - that something CAN be done doesn't meant that it OUGHT to)
Jevons Paradox and human hubris are lurking behind our curtain of optimism.
