Abby’s thoughts on our work seemed to have taken a softer, more empathetic tone than her initial attitude had portrayed. “There’s not much you can’t fix with baling twine and a prayer,” she quipped. Since my fences and my life are often held together by those two very indispensable ingredients, I could only smile and agree.

One tool for managing these fluctuations and improving returns in all years is the use of value-added programs. While these programs have become increasingly popular due to the promise of higher premiums for “program” cattle, participation costs vary greatly, leaving some producers to ask if it’s really worth enrolling.

The 2025-30 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) issued by the Trump administration in January 2026 are perhaps the most talked-about DGA ever. In some ways, they are also the most simplified, containing just 10 pages of official guidance under the catchphrase “eat real food.”

Grain producers in the Pacific Northwest know that marketing wheat is rarely straightforward. Prices move constantly, global events can shake markets overnight and input costs continue to rise. Over the past decade, these pressures have made it increasingly difficult for producers to lock in profitable prices.

Across the Pacific Northwest, sugarbeet growers are facing one of the most challenging market environments in decades. Domestic sugar prices have fallen sharply, dropping more than 33% over the past two years. For many sugarbeet growers, the 2025 crop resulted in losses exceeding $500 per acre. If current conditions continue, the economic outlook for the sugarbeet industry is grim.

Our local farmers are under financial pressure, face unpredictable weather and market swings, and are under an overwhelming cultural expectation to “rub some dirt on it” or “cowboy up” and get through it regardless of how they feel. All of these things just compound the strain and lead to silence and, in some cases, tragedy.

As an individual farm that relies largely on the sugarbeet crop, Garner recognizes the need to meet current and future challenges with efficiency, water management and “loosening the reins” to involve the younger generation.

As it commonly is with water projects in the Gem State, money is being dedicated at a constant basis on projects focusing in the short- and long-term future. Idaho Water Resource Board chairman Jeff Raybould presented an extensive review of how state funding has targeted specific projects across the state’s aquifers, streams and rivers.