The November 21 edition of the AgNet News Hour closed out the week with a powerful, wide-ranging interview featuring Jason Gianelli, fourth-generation Kern County farmer and Director of Farming for Old River Farming Company and RNG Finucchi.
Hosts Nick Papagni and Josh McGill called it one of the most honest and energizing conversations of the month, as Gianelli broke down everything from water policy to automation to the future of dairy support crops in California.
Gianelli, whose family has farmed in Kern County for five generations, oversees roughly 30,000 acres of corn silage, wheat silage, and feed crops stretching from Bakersfield north to Kings County. He laughed as he recalled the enormous size of his family—both in acreage and height—and the agricultural heritage passed down through generations. “I don’t cowboy up,” he joked. “I farmer down.”
But the challenges facing today’s farmers aren’t funny. Gianelli described how quickly the landscape has changed, especially with towns expanding into farmland and new layers of regulation making even basic decisions more complex. “We’re still here,” he said, “but California doesn’t make it easy.”
On water, Gianelli was blunt: farmers pay for 100 percent of their allocation but rarely receive it. Even strong districts aren’t getting full deliveries, and SGMA-driven pumping limits are forcing growers to rethink cropping patterns. “You can’t conserve your way out of a drought,” he said. “But you can be smart. Automation is going to help us turn valves on and off, monitor leaks, and use every drop wisely.”
Gianelli believes ROI—not hype—will determine which technologies survive. Some tools pay for themselves in three years; others take ten and aren’t worth it. “Everything is a tool in the toolbox,” he said. “But you still need eyes on the ground. I’ll never stop checking fields with a shovel.”
He also emphasized the role of dairy innovation, calling California dairies “one of the most efficient systems in the world.” From methane digesters to manure-water recycling, he praised dairies for making sure nothing goes to waste. “We’ll use water three or four times before it leaves the ranch,” he said.
On regulations and politics, Gianelli didn’t hold back. He criticized lawmakers who pass laws without understanding agriculture and voters who read headlines instead of full articles. “If you voted yes on Prop 50, you voted against agriculture,” he said plainly. “People are removed from the farm. They don’t know where their food comes from.”
Still, Gianelli remains hopeful—not because the system is easy, but because farmers don’t quit. “California can be great again,” he said. “Bad policy hurts everyone, but people will wake up. Farming is still the greatest job in the world.”
He lit up when talking about bringing his young children into the field. “They drive tractors with me. They learn about insects, seeds, and soil. I want them to love this life the way I do.”
Papagni closed the interview by calling Gianelli “one of California’s strongest farm voices,” while McGill said what many listeners were thinking: “Farmers are the real environmentalists. They take care of the land like family.”
Listen to previous AgNet News Hour episodes…