On today’s AgNet News Hour, we’re sounding the alarm on a major, yet underreported crisis: California’s tree nut industry is being ravaged by a surge in rodent populations and the stakes are climbing toward a staggering half-billion dollars in damage.

Nick Papagni and Josh McGill dig into the roots of this growing problem with Ryan Jacobson, CEO of the Fresno County Farm Bureau. As Ryan explains, the rodent explosion,  from rats and squirrels to ground squirrels and gophers, has escalated due to several compounding factors: two years of unusually wet weather, an increase in abandoned orchards, and evolving pest behaviors that are making them increasingly difficult to control.

These rodents aren’t just nibbling at crops, they’re chewing through drip irrigation systems, gnawing on tree bark, and wreaking havoc on infrastructure across almond and pistachio orchards. And with regulatory restrictions on traditional rodenticides in California, farmers are left scrambling for alternatives, some even resorting to unconventional tools like the “squirrel cannon.”

The problem isn’t confined to large farms. Even smaller growers and backyard producers are calling for help as rodents invade residential areas and push into adjacent agricultural land. It’s a growing and spreading issue, one that’s exhausting both financial and labor resources.

Later in the show, we hear from Roger Isom, CEO of both the Western Agricultural Processors Association and the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association. He weighs in on California’s regulatory pressure, labor costs, and the breaking point many growers are reaching. From automation replacing thousands of jobs to energy and freight costs pricing California agriculture out of the global market, Isom paints a sobering picture of the challenges ahead, and urges urgent legislative action.

This is part one of a powerful two-part conversation with Isom. Tune in tomorrow for more on the state's climate policies, the future of water infrastructure, and the fight for California agriculture’s survival.

Get the latest local, state, and national agriculture news in today’s AgNet News Hour by AgNet West.