The project’s first phase, which includes major earthwork and construction of a milking barn with a modern rotary parlor, has been completed and the next phase of construction (maternity and commodity barns and classrooms) is underway. In early May, U of I led a tour of lawmakers, local officials and members of the state’s Permanent Building Fund Advisory Council to showcase the return on the considerable investment they’ve made in CAFE.

Three months ago, my position was: This new tariff deal will be a lot of talk and little action. So far, that has been the case; however, this could change in the blink of an eye. Even what is written today could be old news by the time this ink dries. Nonetheless, there are some constants in the world trade that are going to be impacted. For now, however, the largest component of tariffs is uncertainty.

Soil surfactants when utilized correctly, can optimize soil moisture that would otherwise be limiting and leave the cool-season grasses vulnerable to heat stress. When coupled with well established “best management practices” for irrigation efficiency (i.e., proper maintenance, moisture monitoring, irrigation scheduling based on evapotranspiration and other precision irrigation practices), soil surfactants can be implemented to fully optimize irrigation water supply and improve efficiencies.

Now, 50 years later, I’m beginning to realize how much age and time have altered my mother’s memory. She retold the story of the great river crossing during a recent family Zoom call, and I was stunned. She misremembered every detail. She called the river a “stream” and Easter’s great leap a “hop,” and she claimed she’d clapped and cheered my landing – not in awe – but to keep me from crying.

At the 2025 Idaho National FFA Organization Convention, Idaho Superintendent Debbie Critchfield announced that the legislature passed a measure allowing FFA projects to count as "future readiness" projects, replacing the traditional senior project requirement. This change will take effect for this year’s sophomore class. Ag Proud – Idaho’s Cassidy Woolsey caught up with Critchfield to learn more about this change.

“My business philosophy was to start small and grow slow,” Ray says. Today, he has seven small farms with a processing plant and a feed mill. He produces close to 1 million pounds per year of trout, catfish, tilapia, sturgeon and caviar. At their peak production (prior to the pandemic), they produced over 1.5 million pounds per year.

When Sam Stephens walks onto a mining site this summer as a certified welder, he'll carry more than just his gear – he'll represent the kind of success New Plymouth High School's new $2.3 million ag building was built to create.

In April, the following individuals were selected during the Idaho FFA State Convention in Twin Falls to represent the organization for the coming year. They will spend the next year conducting chapter visits, facilitating leadership events and advocating for the Idaho FFA Association.

In 2024, a new law added tributary basins outside the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer to groundwater rights management. Two producers share their perspectives on the impact of this change.