New farm bureau director intends to engage policymakers on regulations
A local political insider set to take the reins of the primary organization representing Kern agricultural says he’s ready to play not just defense but offense as well in support of an industry beset by regulations he sees as threatening farmers’ ability to make a living.
Romeo Agbalog, the 42-yearold president of the Kern Community College District board of trustees and departing executive director of Kern Citizens for Sustainable Government, said Wednesday he plans to reach out to elected officials at all levels of government after he takes over on Monday as executive director of the Kern County Farm Bureau.
Another top priority he laid out in an exclusive interview with The Californian was outreach to local schools and colleges in order to build partnerships and ensure graduates interested in farming careers have the technical skills they’ll need to thrive in the local ag industry.
The Delano native and son of two farmworker parents likened the industry’s struggles with that of local oil and gas production.
“Both are highly regulated industries trying to operate and survive during a very intense regulatory environment,” he said, “and that, coupled with labor scarcities, uncertainty with respect to water and volatile market prices (mean) it’s a very difficult time to farm. Yet farming is such a vital element in our existence and our economy here at home.”
Bureau President John C. Moore III noted Agbalog comes to the organization with broad experience in the public and private sectors, plus “a wealth of knowledge of policy and government at all levels.”
“His experience, knowledge and reputation for solving problems and implementing bold and innovative initiatives is welcomed at a time when the agricultural industry is struggling
under burdensome regulations, uncertainty regarding labor and water and volatile markets,” Moore said in a news release.
Agbalog served as a Delano Union School District trustee for 10 years before being elected to the KCCD board. He has worked as a staff member to former county Supervisor Jon McQuiston and to former state Sen. Jean Fuller. He worked as manager of government affairs at the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce before joining KCSG, which is a nonprofit organization advocating in local public policy matters.
At the bureau he succeeds Colleen Taber, who moved to Texas after about a year as executive director.
Agbalog said that, with challenges coming from so many different angles, now is the time for local agriculture to innovate as it has before in the areas of water-banking and new product development.
“I think that these issues, whether it be labor, water, commodity prices or whatnot, all of these things sort of happen fluidly,” he said. The bureau is ready to engage as these issues come to bear, he continued, adding, “We’re forward-thinking and solutions-oriented.”
One thing he said the bureau has going for it is its reputation: It’s more than 100 years old and trusted. He said he plans to engage with the local community as well as government officials about farming’s importance to feeding people as well as providing employment.
He declined to address the bureau’s position on immigration reform, noting it did not take a stance on the farmworker immigration bill awaiting introduction in the U.S. Senate after it got the support of Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, but not that of the other local congressman, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield.
But he emphasized water remains a big priority for the bureau. Local farmers’ need for clean, affordable and accessible water requires getting a handle on a variety of regulatory and other government hurdles related to conveyance and water supply.
“Every mandate, every regulatory rule or law that we have to abide by costs money,” he said, “and that makes it a lot more difficult to not just operate but turn a profit.”