According to a report released by the University of Idaho, four of Idaho’s major crops achieved record values in 2023. This marks the second consecutive year of exceptional revenue for Idaho agriculture.
Idaho’s cash receipts for livestock and crops in 2023 were estimated at $11.2 billion, a small decrease from 2022 ($11.3 billion).
“We’ve had back-to-back excellent years to be in Idaho agriculture,” said Brett Wilder, one of the agricultural economists who published the report. “We’ve had all-time record highs in four commodity groups.”
“The Financial Condition of Idaho Agriculture: 2023,” created by Wilder and Xiaoxue “Rita” Du, showed that sugar beets (up 25%), cattle and calves (up 18%), barley (up 17%), and potatoes (up 14%) all reached a record number of revenue during this past year.
Milk—Idaho’s leading agricultural commodity that represents approximately a third of the state’s agricultural cash receipts—went down by 18%. However, Idaho’s dairy industry still ranks third overall in the nation for dairy production.
Despite this past year’s success, Wilder expects that agricultural cash receipts will drop slightly in 2024.
“My expectation in 2024 is we should be down below $11 billion but still above $10 billion unless something catastrophic happens,” Wilder said.
Herman Roberts can be reached at [email protected]