The 2025 growing season was a favorable one for many commodities across states like Idaho; however, the high cost of doing business continues to result in struggles for farmers and growers across the state.
Brett Wilder, an ag economist at the University of Idaho, says not only is labor difficult to find, but it also gets more expensive with each passing year.
“Those folks that work within the H-2A program, the adverse Wage Rate, which is what they run that off since 2016, is up 54 percent nationwide. So, huge increases to what your salaries and expenses are. Machinery and repair costs took a huge bump up post-COVID and have still been very sticky, certainly not any cheaper to have access to those things.”
Wilder added that for many producers, especially those in the crop sector, 2025 has been painful when it comes to the margins, and he doesn’t see that changing dramatically anytime soon.
“Chemical fertilizer prices have been super volatile because of some of the trade discussions, yes, but also the disruptions we had over in the Middle East earlier this year, and a huge part of the chemical and fertilizer trade goes through the Strait of Hormuz. Fuel’s been a stable point, but when you talk about how the crop sector is doing, not only do you have these really poor output prices, but we have this situation where inputs got high, have stayed high, and aren’t really showing any signs of going lower.”
Wilder added that for many producers, the goal this year is to break even, but he said many Idaho farmers won’t be able to do that.