3 times per day we need a farmer.

We have farmed in Bonners Ferry for 100-plus years. Farming means long hours, uncertain markets, unpredictable weather, and low margins. U.S. farmers receive under six cents of every dollar spent on food at the grocery store. We take the price the market offers. We don’t set it.

The stakes for Idaho’s family farms are high. Idaho lost 100 farms 2024-'25 and loses an average of 28,000 acres of farmland every year to development — once gone, it's farmed no more. As farm numbers shrink, agricultural research, best practices, strong domestic and export markets become paramount.

Idaho farmers understand investment.  We serve on commission boards, donate our time/resources, support agricultural education, and vote carefully for leaders who understand that sound policy not scorecards or fearmongering sustains rural communities.

Representative Mark Sauter and Senator Jim Woodward backed HB 173, a grower-requested levy increase on clover and alfalfa. They voted for SB 1054, raising the assessment on beans. Both increases were requested by the farmers growing those commodities — not by taxpayers or government.

These farmer investments are grower-led through commodity commissions for public research, market development, and education.  Improved yields, disease resistance, and advanced practices help Idaho farm incomes while competing globally.

Voting against these requests doesn’t protect farmers; it overrules them. Opposing these measures — as Herndon promotes — signals belief he understands Idaho farm family needs better than Idaho farm families themselves.

Mark Sauter and Jim Woodward support agriculture. Please vote May 19.

JEFF HOOD

Bonners Ferry

Houck Farms, established 1924