The USDA announced on Feb. 13 new investments and strategies to help farmers and ranchers conserve water, address climate change and build drought resilience in the West, supported in part by funding from the Inflation Reduction Act.

The six freedoms of a cow outlined by a dairy farming training organization are space, rest, water, air, light and feed. These freedoms have aligned benchmarking goals to help producers realize higher returns on current and future farm investments.

The decision to invest in your operation may be a difficult one this year. Here are a few areas of the farm and ranch to pay special attention to as you evaluate your operation needs and return on your investment.

I personally just enjoy rain. Having grown up in Idaho and lived here my whole life, I think I have come to understand what a few days of rain mean to our state and the farming community.

It’s no secret that Elmore County contains the critically important watersheds for southwestern Idaho, encompassing most of the Boise Water Basin Range and the totality of several reservoirs (Anderson Ranch, Little Camas, Long Tom and Mountain Home) and parts of two other reservoir systems (Arrowrock and Lucky Peak).