Idaho is known for agriculture—particularly potatoes—across the world. In a state with plenty of land for farms, ranches and dairies, there is also an abundance of water. Without water to sustain Idaho’s most famous crops, the state would not rank first in the nation for the production of potatoes, trout, barley or peppermint.

However, ongoing droughts are affecting the amount of water Idaho has available to put toward agriculture. Growers and residents alike are looking at a future where they must prioritize how and where they use water.

It’s been called the Great Resignation: a voluntary mass exodus of employees from the national labor market, particularly low-paying service jobs, starting in early 2021. Idaho isn’t exempt from the Great Resignation. Here are a few Idahoans’ experiences, from the views of both workers and employers.

Canyon County, including Sunnyslope, is updating its comprehensive plan and, in the process, is considering how to preserve ag land.

So far, options include the creation of an “agritourism overlay,” allowing the county to create zoning rules for that area. In particular, an “intensive ag overlay” would protect agricultural areas from being encroached upon or creating incompatible uses. 

A generation of Basque Idahoans sought a renewed connection with the Basque Country through the traditional recipes brought with their grandparents to America. In the Basque American hub of Boise, Idaho’s Basque cuisine fuses traditional flavors and methods with culture, ingredients and innovation picked up in the new world.

Countless beds of fresh herbs, wandering chickens and a greenhouse bursting with bright red tomatoes take habitat in Angelo Brunson's backyard. It's the kind of small operation that makes Angelo's Ristorante in Coeur d'Alene, one of the city's standout farm-to-fork establishments. 

Executive chef and owner Brunson's European heritage and passion for organic ingredients guide his business model as well as his personal mantra: To eat good quality food and know where it's coming from.  

Universal standards in Idaho say the size of a server's tip depends on how well someone is served. However, some would say otherwise and have different thoughts on how tipping should work.

On a sultry day in early June, the front lawn of the Hells Canyon and Zhoo Zhoo winery feels like a tiny slice of Tuscany transported to Caldwell, Idaho. But the winery has an open secret: Both the wine and ambiance are made possible by solar power.

There is little debate that farmers markets, despite having existed for centuries, are one of the bright spots in contemporary American culture. But they’re not limited to the middle class like it may seem today. Markets around Idaho are coming up with innovative ways to help get food to people who need it most.

Some restaurateurs in Idaho are practicing what they believe is a more equitable compensation model, called gratuity-free. Not everyone embraces this somewhat controversial model, but these managers and owners say they are working to “even the playing field” for employee wages at their restaurants.

Many Boise-area families in the early to mid-1900s bought their produce from Garden City—a hub for Chinese immigrants whose gardens gave the municipality its name. Learn their stories in our Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month feature.

Rising land prices have put the cost of farming outside the reach of many young farmers, but a program taking root in Idaho is helping.

Idaho farms—including Peaceful Belly Farm in Canyon County and Full Circle Farm and Nedrow Farm in Teton County—are using conservation land easements that can reduce the cost of permanently preserving farmland by up to half. Here’s how an easement works.

Spring is the season for celebrating fantastic local beer and the people who make it: April is Idaho Craft Beer Month, and May 16-22 is American Craft Beer Week.

At Project FARE, we love telling the stories behind the things you love to eat and drink, so we’re honoring the hoppy, malty, sour season for the next six weeks with a virtual tour of breweries across Idaho.

Keeping farmworkers safe from heat-related illnesses is getting harder every year. 

Without serious action on climate change, reports state, extreme heat and weather may make it impossible to grow food — or work outside safely to harvest it.

Idahoans saw signs of this future in the brutal summer of 2021. Now, as the 2022 harvest season approaches, farmers, farmworkers and the organizations that advocate for them are gearing up for another heat wave. 

For many women like wine educator Kathryn McClaskey, innovating in food and agricultural fields where leadership and prestige tend to skew male has meant finding a voice and using it to make a path for themselves and others where few examples existed before. 

From farming to fine dining and coffee roasting to winemaking, female entrepreneurs and creatives have been part of Idaho’s thriving food scene from the beginning and are leading the way as it grows. 

Eugene Settle was 5 years old when he and his family moved from Oklahoma to the Pacific Northwest in 1899. His father, who grew up in Mississippi and was a descendent of enslaved people, had visions of hunting, farming and settling a homestead of his own. 

Learn the Settle family story and more in our Black History Month feature.

In Idaho, cottage baking laws allow entrepreneurial home bakers to sell goods made in their own kitchens directly to consumers, as long as they adhere to a few basic guidelines. Whether as a part-time side gig for a little extra cash or as a full-time business, with a little finesse and some word-of-mouth marketing, bakers like Rizzuto often find cottage baking pays off quite sweetly. 

As record-breaking heat, smoke and wildfire plagued the Pacific Northwest this summer, many of Idaho’s agricultural businesses were affected by the enduring summer, droughts and long fire seasons of the past few years.

The summer of 2021 was an especially hot, smoky one with July being the hottest month in recorded human history and an unusually early start to the smoke lingering in the air. While some places hadn’t seen any serious effects, local growers and ranchers at the base of our food chain were dealing with lessened crops, wildfire, lack of rain and smoke exposure.

Written by Anteia McCollum

Every Saturday from May until October, vendors sell everything from farm fresh vegetables and potted herbs to handmade wooden spoons and stained glass decor at Idaho’s many farmers markets.

Located throughout the state, from the urban Treasure Valley to the rural fields of the Palouse, farmers markets serve their communities while creating a unique one itself.

Written by Anteia McCollum

The scent of summer in Idaho’s Treasure Valley is undeniably one of the land.

Drive down Ustick or Highway 20/26 on a balmy July night with the windows down, and the cool, grassy smells of spearmint and alfalfa fields surround you. If you’re out particularly late, and the dewpoint is just right, the mechanical whir of harvesters and farm trucks provide an ambient soundtrack to the evening, their headlights illuminating their own dust clouds.

Asked about his pricing strategy at the Boise Farmers Market, Steve Spiteri of Meridian’s Ohana No-Till Farm described a moment of standoff at the booth. It’s a familiar snapshot: The vendor stands on one side of the plastic table while the buyer stands on the other, bag of salad in hand.