Published 5:00 pm Monday, April 24, 2023
WILDER, Idaho — As young farmers, 2019 was a lifetime ago for Miguel and Camas Villafana of Wilder, Idaho.
They started that year with 20 acres and one crop: corn. It suits newer producers partly because extensive research by universities, seed companies and others is readily available, said Miguel Villafana, 31.
The Villafanas subsequently added wheat, sugar beets and — new for 2023 — potatoes. The operation now comprises about 320 acres of owned and leased ground as well as their own planting equipment.
“We’d like to keep growing — understanding that with continued growth you would need additional human resources,” said Miguel, who also works as an agricultural lender. For now, the farm is the right size for its three-person staff.
“Every day I feel like I learn something new,” said Camas Villafana, 33. Driving a 10-wheel farm truck to a local sugar beet drop-off site or grain elevator, and handling irrigation equipment are examples.
National Guard service gave her experience with disciplined task completion and built resilience, “which is what you need when you are farming,” she said.
“I’m learning to have a lot of patience and flexibility,” said Camas, who is from Boise and went to Carroll College in Helena, Mont. She appreciates farming and “what it means. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Miguel worked on a sizable farm in Aberdeen, Idaho, during high school and while earning an agribusiness degree at Utah State University.
“I always loved it. It has been my dream,” he said of farming.
Young farmers face significant barriers to entry, though “it’s not impossible,” Miguel said. “You need the right things to work in your favor.”
The Villafanas, who married in 2017 and have two young children, got good help from USDA Farm Service Agency lenders. And while land costs a bit more per acre in the state’s southwest compared to its southeast, the southwest offers more small parcels that can be more manageable to rent or buy, he said.
Miguel always wanted to grow beets and potatoes, which have high input costs but can be rewarding, he said. Through earlier experience and education, he developed knowledge about irrigating the crops and managing production.
He and Camas grow beets for the Amalgamated Sugar cooperative. They were featured on the Snake River Sugarbeet Growers Association website.
As for potatoes, an opportunity to farm fields ideally suited to the crop was a factor in this year’s move to grow them on 90 acres, Miguel said. And he saw a need among fresh-pack shippers in the state’s east, particularly when the crop in that higher-altitude region is still maturing.
Hammett-area farmer Nick Blanksma, 40, is impressed by the Villafanas.
“Agriculture or farming is a difficult enterprise to get into right now, especially some of the higher-valued crops,” Blanksma said. They “seem not to be afraid, and are diving right into it, which I have a huge amount of respect for.
“And they are two of the nicest people I know,” he said.
