The Idaho Wheat Commission (IWC) commissioners nominated and unanimously elected Commissioner Wayne Hurst, Declo, to serve as the commission chairman for the 2024 fiscal year. At the same time, Commissioner Bill Flory, Culdesac, was nominated and elected to serve as vice chairman for the same period. Clark Hamilton and Wayne Hurst previously held the positions of chair and vice chair, respectively. Commissioners are appointed by the governor to serve a five-year term that can be renewed for a second term. Hamilton has served on the commission since fiscal year 2015 and Hurst since fiscal year 2021.

Hurst has actively been involved in state and national grain organizational leadership for nearly two decades as president of the Idaho Grain Producers Association and the National Association of Wheat Growers, chairman of the National Wheat Foundation, and the vice chair of the Railroad-Shipper Transportation Advisory Council.

“The Idaho Wheat Commission is fortunate to have the leadership, knowledge and experience each of the commissioners brings to the table, and Wayne is certainly no exception,” said Britany Hurst Marchant, IWC executive director. “Wayne has been a leader in the grain industry for more than 20 years, and I believe the commission and the wheat industry in Idaho will be in good hands with Commissioner Hurst as the chairman.”

Hurst grew up in Declo in Cassia County on a multigenerational family farm. He and his wife, Sherrie, own and operate a diversified row crop operation in the Declo/Albion area where they grow wheat, sugarbeets, dry beans and alfalfa on the same land Hurst’s grandparents cultivated nearly a century ago.

The Idaho Wheat Commission was established in 1959 to develop export markets for Idaho wheat growers, invest in the advancement of wheat research, and provide wheat grower education. The commission is a not-for-profit, self-governing, grower-funded state agency with a responsibility to increase wheat grower profits by investing in market development, research and grower education. The Idaho Wheat Commission is governed by a board of five wheat growers from around the state.

—Idaho Wheat Commission press release