Idaho No. 1 in West in farm income on a per capita basis

By Sean Ellis

Idaho Farm Bureau Federation

POCATELLO – Idaho continues to hold the unchallenged No. 1 spot among 11 Western states when it comes to farm cash receipts on a per capita basis.

Put simply, Idaho farmers and ranchers produce far more farm revenue per state resident than producers in any of the other 11 Western states.

California led the West, and nation, with $50 billion in farm cash receipts – cash receipts are the amount of revenue a farmer or rancher gets for their commodity – in 2018. Washington ranked second with $9.4 billion and Idaho was third at $7.4 billion.

However, when farm cash receipts per state are broken down to a per capita basis – total farm income divided by the state’s population – Idaho is the undisputed king in the West.

Idaho farmers and ranchers produced $4,305 in cash receipts per state resident in 2018, up from $4,287 in 2017. California’s per capita farm income average in 2018 was $1,263 and Washington’s was $1,269.

Montana was the only state remotely close to Idaho, with a per capita average of $3,326. Wyoming ranked third at $2,671, followed by New Mexico ($1,398), Washington, California, Colorado ($1,262), Oregon ($1,182), Arizona ($613), Utah ($543) and Nevada ($220).

The data is based on U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service data that became available Aug. 30. University of Idaho Agricultural Economist Ben Eborn compiled the rankings to show elected officials and others just how important agriculture is to the state’s economy.

“It’s easy way to see the contribution agriculture makes to the state’s economy compared to other states, on a per capita basis,” he said. “We’re heavily dependent on agriculture in Idaho.”

When it comes to agriculture, “California is by far and away the largest ag state in the nation,” said U of I Agricultural Economist Garth Taylor. “But in California, agriculture is nowhere near as important to the average resident as it is in Idaho. Agriculture is far more important to Idahoans that it is to residents of any other state in the West.”

Michael Parrella, dean of U of I’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, pointed out to industry leaders during a meeting in Parma Sept. 6. that agriculture accounts for only about 2 percent of California’s total gross state product but in Idaho, according to a recent U of I study, agriculture accounts for 13 percent of the state’s GSP.

The study also found that agriculture accounts for $26 billion in sales in Idaho and one of every eight jobs.

“As agriculture goes, so does the state of Idaho,” Parrella said.

The USDA data showed that farm cash receipts in Idaho totaled $7.39 billion in 2018, up slightly from $7.33 billion in 2017.

Idaho ranked No. 3 in that category and was followed by Colorado ($7.1 billion), Oregon ($4.9 billion), Arizona ($4.3 billion), Montana ($3.5 billion), New Mexico ($2.9 billion), Utah ($1.7 billion), Wyoming ($1.5 billion) and Nevada ($660 million).