Lisa Kerr Warns of Policy Threats and Fights for California Farmers

The September 24 edition of the AgNet News Hour featured one of the program’s most eye-opening interviews yet. Hosts Nick Papagni and Josh McGill welcomed Lisa Kerr, founder of Terrain Technologies, who laid out a stark picture of California agriculture’s future if current policies continue unchecked.

Kerr, who has deep family roots in California’s oil and gas industry, connected her own experiences in Taft to the struggles farmers now face. She explained how state and federal policies, backed by billions in grant funding, have deliberately targeted industries like oil, gas, timber, and now agriculture. “They strategically go after landowners who are asset heavy and relentlessly pursue them until they get every last dime,” she warned.

Water was a central theme of the conversation. Kerr argued California’s shortages are a manmade crisis, worsened by policy failures and financial interests. With water being traded as a commodity and environmental groups wielding outsized influence, she cautioned that rural communities could soon face the same fate as Taft — once a thriving oil town, now struggling after restrictive policies forced wells to close.

Kerr also raised concerns about California’s push for electric trucks and solar panels on farmland. “If you’re not ready for the automation and you push $450,000 electric trucks on farmers, you squeeze them to death,” she said. The same, she argued, goes for proposals to convert fertile ground into solar farms. “Water is the answer, not solar panels.”

Despite the sobering outlook, Kerr pointed to opportunities. She highlighted new federal and NIFA grants that support ag innovators, encouraging farmers with bold ideas to pursue funding. Her company, Terrain Technologies, is working to defend agriculture and bring tools from AI and national security into farm operations.

For Papagni and McGill, Kerr’s story was both a warning and a rallying cry. “If you don’t think they can take farming away from you, just look at Taft,” McGill said. Both hosts agreed that farmers must stay united, engaged, and proactive in defending California agriculture.

Listen to the full conversation with Lisa Kerr on the AgNet News Hour by clicking below or on your favorite podcast app.