Idaho Unchallenged No. 1 in the West in Per Capita Farm Income

Sep 12, 2022

By Sean Ellis

Idaho Farm Bureau Federation

POCATELLO – Despite being the fastest-growing state in the nation, Idaho is still No. 1 among the 11 western states when it comes to farm income on a per capita basis.

Per capita farm income is arrived at by dividing a state’s population by the total amount of farm cash receipts produced in that state. Farm cash receipts refers to the revenue farmers and ranchers receive for selling their commodity.

According to federal data released Sept. 1 and crunched by University of Idaho Extension Educator Brett Wilder, Idaho farmers and ranchers produced $4,392 per Idahoan in farm revenue during 2021.

That made Idaho the top state in per capita farm income among the 11 western states last year, far ahead of No. 2 Montana, which came in at $3,729 in per capita farm income.

“We’re just a big ag state,” said University of Idaho Agricultural Economist Garth Taylor. “The profile of agriculture in the state is still huge.”

Wilder said the per capita farm income data shows that “agriculture remains an incredibly important industry to Idaho.”

California led all U.S. states in total farm cash receipts last year, at $51 billion. But when it came to per capita farm income, California came in at $1,302 per Californian.

What the per capita income data shows is that agriculture is far more important to the average Idahoan than it is to people in other states, even California, the king of ag states, Taylor said.

U.S. Census Bureau data show that Idaho has been the fastest-growing state in the nation over the past decade on a percentage basis.

While Idaho’s population is growing quickly, so is the state’s farming sector, Taylor said.

Earlier this year, he told state legislators that Idaho’s total gross domestic product grew by more than 100 percent from 1997 to 2020. During that same period, Idaho farm GDP grew by more than 200 percent.

“Agriculture is growing faster than the state’s overall economy,” Taylor said. “We’re big and we’re growing.”

When it came to per capita farm income last year, Wyoming ranked No. 3 in the West at $2,962, followed by Colorado ($1,415), New Mexico ($1,413), Washington ($1,315), Oregon and California ($1,302), Utah ($595), Arizona ($545) and Nevada ($240).

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Video: A chain harrow is a game changer

Utilizing a rotational grazing method on our farmstead with our sheep helps to let the pasture/paddocks rest. We also just invested in a chain harrow to allow us to drag the paddocks our sheep just left to break up and spread their manure around, dethatch thicker grass areas, and to rough up bare dirt areas to all for a better seed to soil contact if we overseed that paddock. This was our first time really using the chain harrow besides initially testing it out. We are very impressed with the work it did and how and area that was majority dirt, could be roughed up before reseeding.

Did you know we also operate a small business on the homestead. We make homemade, handcrafted soaps, shampoo bars, hair and beard products in addition to offering our pasture raised pork, lamb, and 100% raw honey. You can find out more about our products and ingredients by visiting our website at www.mimiandpoppysplace.com. There you can shop our products and sign up for our monthly newsletter that highlights a soap or ingredient, gives monthly updates about the homestead, and also lists the markets, festivals, and events we’ll be attending that month.