Freight, Labor, and Water: Roger Isom Unpacks the Big Challenges

In today’s episode of the AgNet News Hour, we bring you a powerful and in-depth conversation with Roger Isom, President and CEO of both the Western Agricultural Processors Association and the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association. From labor policy to freight and water infrastructure, Isom doesn’t hold back in explaining what’s holding California agriculture back and what might just help turn things around.

As Isom explains, labor and immigration reform are long overdue. For decades, leaders from both parties have failed to create a path forward. But Isom is hopeful the current administration may finally bring clarity and compromise. “We’ve had the same people work with us for 20 or 30 years,” he says, “and they’re part of our communities. It’s time to take care of them.”

Freight is another huge concern. The state’s push toward electric and hydrogen trucks might be well-intentioned, but Isom points out the reality: they’re not viable for ag transport today. From high costs to impractical range limitations, these changes threaten small trucking operations that California ag relies on. “If I lose 9,000 pounds of payload to a battery, that’s an extra trip I have to pay for,” he warns.

And of course, no conversation about California ag is complete without water. Isom lays out how misguided environmental regulations have crippled the state’s most productive farmland—transforming once-thriving communities into shadows of their former selves. Despite sacrifices made to protect species like Delta smelt, populations have declined anyway. “We’ve taken the water,” Isom says, “but we haven’t fixed the problem.”

Isom also calls out the dangerous disconnect between legislators and the land. Many of the people making critical decisions about agriculture have never been on a farm, and that ignorance leads to damaging policies. “They thought we kept our workers locked up at night,” Isom recalls, emphasizing the need to educate lawmakers directly.

You don’t want to miss this episode. Tune in now and hear straight from one of California ag’s most influential voices.