“He’s probably one of the most successful farmers I know,” says Kyle Rupp of his dad, Gary. “He started from the ground up and made all of this possible.”

He calls himself a Rigby town kid, but Dennis Lake was truly his grandfather’s right-hand man on the ranch just north of town. At 88, Lake is still a critical part of the operation. 

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.

Hamer Farms grows about 1,500 acres of potatoes, along with alfalfa, corn, wheat and mustard. The farm and packing operation together employ almost 60 people.

With the third and fourth generations at the helm today, Wittman Farms is as committed to the vision of stewardship and intentional business management as ever.

For Avery Oswald of Rigby, Idaho, winning the Idaho Cattle Association (ICA) 2025 Heifer of the Year (HOY) program was a key milestone in her dream of running her own cattle operation someday.

Taking the familiar Christmas pageant to the next level, living nativities seek to immerse visitors in the events surrounding Jesus’s birth, without ever leaving Idaho. And behind the scenes of many of these living nativities are the ranches and pet owners that contribute animals – and the sights, sounds, textures and smells that they bring – to the experience.

Thomas Cattle Company, a fourth-generation cow-calf operation based in Oreana, Idaho, is making strategic moves to stay cutting-edge in today’s rapidly evolving agricultural landscape. While preserving the foundational elements of their ranch, Seth and Elizabeth Thomas, and Logan and Kristin Thomas, are focused on innovating their business model to ensure long-term success for future generations.

When a devastating fire destroyed Reed’s Dairy on Jan. 18, 2024, second-generation dairy farmer Alan Reed faced what could have been the end of his dairy in Idaho Falls. Instead, thanks to a fire plan, quick action, community support and industry connections, not a single person or cow was lost. Reed is now turning tragedy into opportunity with a complete rebuild.

Growing up, Joey Bingham often heard stories about his dad and grandpa running a small creamery and ice cream parlor in Twin Falls, Idaho. Inspired by those memories, he decided to diversify and build his own creamery since it always fascinated him as a kid.