Through the first half of 2023, Idaho is on pace to set a record for total agricultural export value for the third straight year. Idaho businesses exported $603 million worth of agricultural products to other countries during the first six months of 2023, according to recently released U.S. Census Bureau data. That was 10 percent more than the $548 million worth of ag products exported from Idaho during the same period in 2022, which was a record year for the state for ag export value. In 2022, a record $1.13 billion worth of ag products were exported from Idaho, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Dustin and Jennifer Young have owned Idaho Grain Inspection Services (IGIS) in Pocatello for the past five years. If you grow wheat or barley in Idaho (and other grains), their services can help producers market the grain more effectively. IGIS is a privately owned but federally regulated official service provider for grain testing, which means IGIS holds the federal designation for the state of Idaho.

A much larger 2023 U.S. hard white (HW) wheat crop also shows acceptable quality performance in milling, dough properties and finished products like pan breads, Asian noodles, and steamed breads. The Pacific Northwest (PNW), California and Southern Plains composites all show acceptable to excellent bread baking potential according to respective protein contents. Performance in Asian noodle applications and steamed breads is somewhat more variable.

The new director of USDA's Western Wheat Quality Laboratory has one goal in mind: To keep a good thing going. Sean Finnie joined the lab July 30 as director. "Really, my priority was not to mess things up," Finnie told the Capital Press. "I did a lot of just listening and learning how the lab works, understanding the priorities of the stakeholders ... really just trying to listen to growers, all the way to food manufacturers."

“Cole” Cole says, “When Cody first came back [to the farm], I was old school. We had two combines, but he thought we ought to just invest in one larger combine and a grain cart, and it’s one of the best changes we’ve made.” But Cody brought more changes than just the equipment. He’s excited by many of the newer technologies that increase farm efficiencies. Cody and Cole dry farm about 4,000 acres at Double-C Acres near Soda Springs

The value of Idaho's agricultural production hit a record-high $11.7 billion in 2022, up 37% from the previous year’s revised total of $8.56 billion, USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service reported Oct. 16. Commodity prices made the biggest difference from one year to the next. Prices drive value more than agronomic factors, as it is not typical to have big changes in acres and yield from one year to the next.

Did you know that the rate of suicide among farmers is 3.5 times higher than the general population? It’s a startling statistic and a sign of the daily stress that comes with farming. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), between 2000 and 2002 suicide rates climbed 46% in rural areas. By comparison, the rate in metro areas climbed 27.3%.