Rigby has a new CTE building. It exists thanks to the collaboration of many community stakeholders and the ag teachers in the ag department, but the ag department will never live within its walls, and that is precisely how they want it.

Longtime leaders in Idaho’s agriculture industry were inducted into the Eastern Idaho Agriculture Hall of Fame (EIAHF) during the annual recognition dinner March 21 at the Shoshone-Bannock Casino Hotel in Fort Hall.

The Idaho Wheat Commission (IWC) is moving forward with plans to construct a new building in downtown Boise, with an estimated cost of $14 million. The current building, built in 1945, has been known among the agricultural industry as the Idaho Wheat and Ag Center.

With fuel expenses continuing to stabilize, farmers can expect more predictable operating costs and potentially healthier bottom lines. That small relief could provide a bit of breathing room in 2025 crop budgets and help offset other rising inputs.

In 2023, the Idaho Wolf Depredation Control Board announced a new initiative to control wolves on private property and approved spending up to $50,000 per year for producers to undertake wolf removal projects – with board approval.

“I think there are plenty of workers who would love to come into the U.S. on a longer term to work in the animal industry,” says Hafliger. He adds, “We need to have a long-term program available. The dairy industry is so technical – with the knowledge required – you don’t want to train a guy and then lose him after three months … I would like to see us develop some kind of [work] visa for a set time – at a minimum, for five years.”