After a slow start, the University of Idaho College of Agricultural and Life Sciences is finally poised to begin a monumental project to build farming systems that will stand up to the challenges of climate change. The Innovative Agriculture and Marketing Partnerships for Idaho — commonly known at IAMP — has been awarded $55 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It’s the largest grant in the university’s history and was among 70 projects awarded nationwide from a $2.8 billion investment in the department’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities initiative. More than half of the money will be paid out to growers who enroll in the program.

Tribal representatives and the governors of Washington and Oregon met with federal officials at the White House on Feb. 23 to sign the Columbia River Basin Agreement, reached during mediation over a long-running lawsuit targeting Snake River dam operations. None of the speakers mentioned breaching the lower Snake River dams. Tribal leaders and agricultural stakeholders have said the deal is a pathway to breaching. Authority to breach the dams remains with Congress.

An irrigators association estimates it would cost as much as $1 billion to keep farming if the four lower Snake River dams are ever breached. Washington state and the Bonneville Power Administration would need to pay irrigators about $750 million over four years to reconstruct about 25 pump stations in the event of breaching, and cover disruption to their farms as the dams are removed and replaced, according to the Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association.

In a 29-5 vote, the Idaho Senate on Monday adopted Senate Joint Memorial 103 to voice opposition to the federal government’s efforts to remove and breach dams in the Columbia-Snake River system. A joint memorial is not a bill, but rather it is a petition or representation made by either chamber and approved in the other chamber, “addressed to whoever can effectuate the request of the memorial." According to the joint memorial, the Idaho Legislature addresses President Joe Biden, the U.S. Congress and Idaho’s congressional delegation. The Idaho Legislature in the joint memorial said it recognizes the importance of the Columbia-Snake River system for fish and wildlife, recreation, hydropower generation, irrigation, and transportation for agriculture.

We can be hard on ourselves. We often focus on our perceived limitations and get caught in a cycle of self-reproach and criticism. This self-punitive attitude can distance us from others, as we might feel unworthy of or a burden to other people, increasing our disconnectedness and loneliness. This is mirrored by activation patterns in the brain: Isolation and poor self-esteem have been associated with altered activity in areas connected to motivation, reward and stress response. Low self-esteem and social isolation go hand-in-hand. But the opposite is also true: Treating ourselves well is connected with positive feelings toward others and gratitude about life.

Idaho lost 2,119 farms, or 8.5 percent of its total farms, between 2017 and 2022, according to the 2022 Census of Agriculture. Data from the 2022 ag census was released Feb. 13 and it showed there were 22,877 farms and ranches in Idaho during the 2022 census year. That was down from 24,996 farms during the 2017 census year. The Census of Agriculture is conducted every five years and is the only source of uniform, comprehensive and impartial agricultural data. It provides millions of potential data points on U.S. farming, down to the county level.

Argentina and China agreed on a phytosanitary protocol in October 2023, paving the way for Argentine wheat to be imported by the Asian giant. That was followed by a January 2024 announcement that China added several Argentine companies to its list of approved exporters.“Sales are now possible, but none have yet been announced,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture stated in its recent Grain: World Markets and Trade report. Argentina typically ships its wheat to other Latin American countries, but in bumper years it goes further afield, selling to markets in Asia and Africa.