What’s black and powdery fine, with holes all over? “Biochar” might not be everyone’s immediate response, but this soil additive is gaining popularity in the U.S. Now, University of Idaho (U of I) researchers hope to put numbers to the benefits of biochar application on Palouse farms.

We had no idea when we sold one of our wheel lines that several half gallons of Reed’s Dairy ice cream would be thrown in as part of the deal, not to mention the jalapeno cheese curds and creamy chocolate milk. This shouldn’t have surprised me, as I’ve noticed even the suggestion of moving wheel lines evokes varying emotions in people.

“It was the warmest winter on record since 1895,” said Erin Whorton, a hydrologist and water supply specialist with the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service during the Idaho Water Users Association summer meeting in June.

Each year, grain producers in Idaho with Farm Service Agency (FSA) base acres face an important enrollment decision: Should they sign up for Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC)?

Farmers, ranchers, landowners, renters, real estate agents, bankers and interested neighbors all have one question in common: What is a fair market rate for renting agricultural land?

The latest issue of Ag Proud – Idaho magazine is available. To view, make sure you're logged into your agproud.com account. If you do not have access, click "Subscribe" in the top-right corner of agproud.com to add permission to view.

While new irrigation technologies can be valuable tools, improving irrigation efficiency does not always require a major investment. In many cases, small management changes can have a significant impact on water use, crop performance and overall profitability.