Surrounded by desert on a bluff above the Payette River sits Payette River Ridge LLC, a farm owned and operated by Derek and Chelicy Wanders. It’s hilly country, and that has presented some challenges.

Many of today’s youth are served well through 4-H and FFA programs throughout the state and nation, but those aren’t the only successful youth programs available in agriculture. Several commodity or livestock groups tailor specific programs to encourage youth involvement beyond 4-H or FFA, and Amalgamated Sugar Youth Grower Program is one example of these outstanding programs.

How do we preserve the individual farm legacy while preparing the farm for future generations? It was this question that brought 10 potato farmers together in the late ’70s and early ’80s to attempt to operate a fresh-pack potato shed together.

In seven years, organic matter content in Matthews’ fields has gained a point and a half, and the curve is getting steeper now. “So it’s not taking us decades to make that organic matter change,” he says. “It can happen faster than people think. I mean, we’re farming in a desert, after all … but we’ve changed the soil. And you can change the soil, even in a desert.”

Alfalfa seed demand nationally has been declining gradually for the past 15 years, impacted largely by the dairy industry which moved to alternative feed sources (in part) as alfalfa prices climbed and freight rates rose.

“We complemented each other well – him with a head for business, finance and management, and me on the production side. Besides, it was a good deal for him,” Kearl laughs, “because he lost half of his debt – to me.”

There are voices within Idaho suggesting that hydroelectric generating plants on irrigation canal systems are focused more on generating power (and selling it) than they are on serving the irrigation needs of Idaho agriculture.

“What’s for dinner?” is probably the most common phrase uttered in my home.

"Currently farmers are tasked with finding a home for used drip tape; sometimes it gets piled up, sometimes it goes to the landfill. Better equipment is being used now that can help get the mud out of the tape, but we still need to find appropriate avenues to utilize the used tape."