Billy Wolfe is worried. Or perhaps “worried” is too strong a word for someone as unflappable as Wolfe, but he’s staring down the 2026 summer farming season, and he knows this year is going to be difficult, hot and dry. So very dry.

“As everyone knows the Treasure Valley is rapidly growing,” says Idaho Water Resource Board (IWRB) staff member Justin Ferguson. Based on a water demand survey completed in 2016 for the IWRB, the Treasure Valley is projected to increase in population to 1.57 million people by 2065, and with that increase comes an estimated need for an additional 81,000 acre-feet of water.

With a goal to make $15,000 from the steer, all of the Mountain Home chapter members, including Chapter Advisor Kya Vines Bideganeta, were pleasantly surprised when the steer sold for $30,000 at the auction. However, this wasn't even the biggest surprise; the buyer Quanta West donated the steer back to the chapter to be sold again.

“I couldn’t get it out of my head,” says Jarvis. “One day I sat down with Justin and told him, ‘I think we need to act on this. There’s a lot of opportunity here to help create a stronger industry – both in the present and in the future.’ We both decided to go all in on that. From June to December we spent our time building the platform that is Of The West and then launched in January of 2021.”

For the first time, Ag Proud – Idaho offered three scholarships for Idaho’s high school seniors pursuing a career in agriculture. This initiative reflects Ag Proud – Idaho’s firm belief in the future of agriculture and a commitment to supporting the next generation of ag professionals.

“Commercial watermelon farms in Idaho? Doesn’t that contradict some basic law of nature? I thought commercial watermelons were all grown in California,” says the native Idahoan. Well, this isn’t true anymore. 

With the significant years-long drought in the Pacific Northwest, Idaho water users have once again had to fine-tune water efficiency.