Despite loss of farmland, Idaho’s agriculture industry is still producing more than ever

Mia Maldonado, Idaho Capital Sun

BOISE (Idaho Capital Sun) – Two years ago, Galen Lee was trying to bargain a crippled of onshore successful Fruitland to farm, but he was outbid by a lodging developer for doubly arsenic overmuch arsenic he could offer.

Lee is simply a 4th procreation husbandman successful Payette County, and he raises sweetener beets, peppermint, asparagus, alfalfa, maize and beef.

This year, those developers converted 20 acres of that portion of onshore successful Fruitland into lodging developments. Next year, they will create it into much housing, Lee said.

“It’s frustrating arsenic a farmer, but it makes consciousness economically,” he told nan Idaho Capital Sun.

Lee is 1 of galore farmers who is competing against different industries for land.

Galen Lee stands successful beforehand of a sweetener beet harvester. | (Courtesy of Idaho Farm Bureau)

Between 2017 and 2022, Idaho mislaid 2,119 farms and 144,000 acres of farmland, according to nan U.S. Census of Agriculture’s 2022 data, which was released successful February.

And nan main logic down Idaho’s nonaccomplishment successful farmland is an summation successful organization maturation and nan request for development, Sean Ellis, spokesperson for nan Idaho Farm Bureau told nan Sun.

According to nan U.S. Census Bureau, Idaho’s organization accrued 17% betwixt 2010 to 2020, aliases by astir 272,000 people. That organization maturation has accrued nan request for lodging successful Idaho, he said.

Kootenai County, nan Treasure Valley, Twin Falls County, Franklin County and counties adjacent Idaho Falls had nan highest summation successful lodging units to supplement organization growth, census information shows.

“In a batch of cases, developers are offering personification a beautiful penny for their land, and what they’re offering is excessively overmuch and excessively charismatic to move down,” Ellis told nan Sun.

Despite Idaho’s nonaccomplishment successful farmland, Idaho’s cultivation assemblage still runs beardown arsenic modern farming practices person helped farmers nutrient much pinch little land.

Idaho farmers nutrient much pinch less

Idaho State Statistician Ben Johnson told nan Sun that nan information successful nan cultivation census won’t show causation for nonaccomplishment successful farmland, but it whitethorn support definite claims specified arsenic municipality sprawl aliases conversion to different biology uses.

“A mates of information points that could beryllium concerning, successful Idaho it shows 60% of farms are reporting nett losses and 60% of producers’ superior business is not farming,” he said. “The largest nonaccomplishment successful workplace numbers are successful nan smaller workplace categories, which could propose that it’s not economically prudent to support putting money into a ‘hobby farm’ particularly pinch nan emergence successful costs and nan inducement to waste pinch grounds precocious onshore values.”

Idaho is not unsocial successful having a alteration successful farmland.

Idaho and neighboring states are a portion of a nationalist inclination of decreasing farmland. According to nan latest information from nan U.S. Census of Agriculture, nan state mislaid much than 20 cardinal acres of farmland, and astir 142,000 farms betwixt 2017 and 2022.

“Farmland successful nan U.S. has continued to shrink for decades, but if you look astatine nan facts, farmers correct now successful nan U.S. arsenic a full are producing a batch much nutrient connected a batch little onshore than they did 4 decades ago,” Ellis told nan Sun.

Agricultural census information shows nan state sold much than $540 cardinal worthy of cultivation products successful 2022, an summation from $388 cardinal successful 2017 — erstwhile location was much farmland. While nan COVID-19 pandemic and ostentation jumped prices to grounds highs successful 2022, Johnson said nan costs of accumulation for farms besides jumped up 30% nationally and 40% successful Idaho successful comparison to 2017.

This summation successful income is imaginable because farmers person collaborated pinch investigation institutions specified arsenic nan University of Idaho to find ways to summation yields, Ellis said.

Some examples see researching methods to trim tillage, exploring which ungraded organisms tin heighten wheat yields, and processing devices to negociate workplace h2o from a smartphone, John O’ Connell, spokesperson for nan University of Idaho told nan Sun.

“So, that’s a bully thing, but nan nonaccomplishment successful farmland is not a bully thing,” Ellis said. “It surely is concerning, but it’s not catastrophic because we are producing much nutrient than we ever had.”

Jan Roeser, an economist pinch nan Idaho Department of Labor, affirmed Ellis’ thoughts successful a July report. While Idaho’s nonaccomplishment successful farmland sounds alarming, Roeser said nan alteration successful farmland is nan consequence of Idaho farmers utilizing much automation and practices learned done investigation and improvement to create higher yields.

“While Idaho’s cultivation acreage continues to look ongoing improvement challenges, quality ingenuity and user request for niche products are creating opportunities and advancing businesslike workplace practices for early generations,” she said successful nan report.

According to nan cultivation census, Idaho produced $10.8 cardinal worthy of cultivation products, a spike up from $7.6 cardinal successful 2017.

“The automation and adapting practices person kept our levels of accumulation resilient,” Roeser told nan Sun successful an email.

Lee, who owns 1,200 acres of land, said he recognizes nan domiciled cultivation investigation has played successful helping summation production.

“Absolutely, we’re improving each nan time,” he said astir modern farming tactics. “Our yields are getting better. But erstwhile nan onshore comes retired of accumulation and goes to houses, it ne'er goes back. As we suffer this workplace ground, we’re losing nan capacity to nutrient food.”