How long could you afford to lose 20% of your annual income, while at the same time working longer hours trying to mitigate your losses? Not long.
In his 2011 State of the Union speech, President Obama caught the attention of many of us when he said, “The Interior Department is in charge of salmon while they’re in fresh water, but the Co…
In 1900, roughly 60% of Americans lived in a rural setting. The results of the most recent U.S. Census, conducted in 2010, show that number has sunk to less than 20%. A recent study from the C…
“Ninety-seven percent of land in Custer County is state and federally owned and exempt from taxation,” explained Custer County commissioner and Idaho Association of Counties Public Lands Commi…
I was born in January 1997 and turned 22 this year. I will graduate from college just before I turn 23, entering into a moderately healthy job market. I was four years old when terrorists atta…
I recently joined more than 400 educators from around the country to learn how to use agricultural concepts to teach reading, writing, math, science, social studies and more at the National Ag…
Any 21st century farmer knows that farming is expensive. You could easily spend more than a million dollars on equipment alone. What’s more, you need more than just one harvester and one tract…
It’s really gratifying to see the engagement on our 5-part wolf series, looking at how wolves have affected our people and our state almost 25 years after reintroduction in 1995.
El Niño rains and early snowmelt that flood our fields and orchards. Droughts, floods and stronger storms. Farmworkers toiling in unsafe working conditions through smoke and extreme heat, whil…
We’re beginning to notice small changes in our wheat crop. The short green fields are growing tall. Before long, the wheat will begin turning from the vivid greens to the golden hues signaling…
Hats off to Beth Ford for calling out President Trump’s questionable arithmetic.
Each morning when I get in my tractor, I turn on the radio and hope to hear a breaking-news report on how the United States and China have struck a deal and ended a trade war that’s causing pa…
A strong majority of farmers and farmworkers say financial issues, farm or business problems and fear of losing the farm impact farmers’ mental health, according to a national Morning Consult …
Take a drive through Hamilton County, Kan., population 2,500, and you know you are in the heart of rural America. Hamilton County has an abundance of many things — wheat, sorghum and dairy, fo…
Who is the American farmer? My answer: a professional, a person of integrity and honesty, an expert in his or her field, a steward of the land, a champion of the working class, an employer, a …
Oregon’s wolves are in serious trouble. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) recently announced their support for a misguided and reckless proposal by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife S…
As a pear grower in Hood River, and the only full-time farmer currently in the Oregon Legislature, I’ve faced solving agricultural challenges throughout my career. I understand the value of en…
In agriculture, everything is cyclical. The same seems to be true of the lower Snake River dams.
The Snake River dams have been in the news again. At an event hosted by Boise State University to examine efforts to balance hydropower, salmon, farming and the environment, the topic of dam b…
Whether we are weekend gardeners in the suburbs or farmers from Maine to California and Florida to Washington state we spread a lot of chemicals on our yards and fields and the only questions …
The Agriculture Department’s just-unveiled Census of Agriculture revealed that 36% of U.S. farmers are women and 56% of all farms have at least one female decision maker.
Salmon have captivated our collective imaginations for generations and earned the reverence of many as they travel thousands of miles to the ocean and return to spawn. They nourish people, cre…
If you ever get the chance to visit with a cattle rancher or beef producer, you may hear some good stories about overprotective momma cows. Cows can be very protective of their calves, even mo…
With 40% of Idaho covered in trees, the management of our forests affects us all.
At USDA, we celebrate Earth Day 2019 by offering big thank-yous to farmers and ranchers here in Idaho for all they do.
“If not us, who? If not now, when?” These questions have been posed by many over the years in an attempt to draw attention to causes both large and small. For Farm Bureau farmer and rancher me…
Our company, Freres Lumber Co., wouldn’t be where it is today if it weren’t for the people who work for us. More than 450 employees strong, Freres Lumber relies on its community as much as the…
We hate to sound like the little boy who cried wolf, but for U.S. farmers there really is a wolf out there and that wolf is called low prices. While the pain is not evenly spread across the na…
Although the saying “Failure means you’re trying” is supposed to bring comfort, hearing it doesn’t always make it easier to accept our failures.
Too often, science and facts fall victim to fear mongering and emotion. Recently, we have seen an uptick in false narratives around wheat growers’ use of the herbicide glyphosate. The reality …
“Whenever the people are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government; that whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them to ri…
The U.S. Forest Service released its budget justification for Fiscal Year 2020 and it includes a lot of information about the agency and its finances. Buried in this voluminous document are de…
Our neighbors to the north and south play an integral part in Idaho’s economy.
As the next generation buys out, is gifted, or inherits the farm, what are frequent sticking points that arise?
Sustainability is a word we hear a lot today. For a cattle rancher it has a lot of meanings. Just like any business, our ranch must be financially stable. We must make enough to support our fa…
BOISE — St. Patrick’s Day bears some unique traditions. The idea that forgetting to wear green for the day could cause you to get pinched could be described by some as crazy or even loony. Yet…
During Agricultural Safety Awareness Week (March 3-9), the Oregon Farm Bureau Health & Safety Committee reminds farmers and ranchers to remember the importance of hearing protection.
A Capital Press Feb. 21 editorial correctly questions cap-and-trade legislation currently in the Oregon legislature. It states that this law would increase costs of fossil fuels used by agricu…
Growing up in Eastern Washington, agriculture was the formative experience of my life. I could look out the living room window of my family home and see fields of wheat ripening, corn tasselin…
If the question could be resolved via citizens’ initiatives, there’s little doubt about the outcome: Pacific Northwest states would follow California in supporting a move toward year-round day…
A recent article in the Herald and News titled “Scaled Back Klamath Groundwater Regulation Debated” was extremely misleading.
A recent report published in the Lancet medical journal claims that people must drastically reduce their meat and dairy consumption to be healthy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Climate change is real, and as Republican Leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, we are focused on solutions. A serious, solutions-oriented discussion about how to address this ch…
Farmers, many of whom are also sportsmen, take duck habitat preservation seriously and the results are something to quack about.
Last Thursday we introduced HJM 2, which focuses on our need to raise the Anderson Ranch Dam.
This December, approximately 30,000 of the world’s top climate experts and state leaders gathered in Poland for COP24, also known as the 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Fr…
On Dec. 11, 2018, with my support, the U.S. Senate passed the final version of the new Farm Bill by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 87-13.
We are all seeing the impacts to farming and ranching operations from extreme weather events, such as reduced mountain snowpack, droughts, flooding, wildfires, invasive species, and even the s…
Like all Americans, I am extremely frustrated in Congress' inability to compromise. My message to Idahoans is that I am sorry for the failure of your elected leaders to fulfill their most basi…
At a time when thousands of U.S. dairy operators of all sizes are starved for revenue, declaring bankruptcy or selling off multi-generational operations, the latest inequity is a particularly …
On Jan. 9, the Washington Post article titled “Trump farm bailout money will go to Brazilian-owned meatpacking firm, USDA says” reveals that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is deceiv…
Coming off one of the worst years that we’ve ever had, knowing that the farm bill had been passed by the end of December was a relief that we weren’t expecting. Just before Christmas, we were …
Some new developments for agricultural employers in Washington state to keep in mind during the new year.
Christmas and other December holidays have changed a lot over the years, but even amidst wide-scale, rapid transformation, many holiday season traditions and ideals that have been influenced b…
Burdensome federal regulations often delay or prohibit American businesses from investing in infrastructure or land development projects that will create jobs, grow crops, and improve how we m…