Input Costs Continue To Weigh On Idaho Ag Community

The 2025 growing season was a good one for many commodities across Idaho, but unfortunately, the cost of doing business is still resulting in struggles for farmers and growers across the state. Brett Wilder, Ag economist at the University of Idaho said not only is labor difficult to find, it 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% nationwide," Wilder pointed out. "So, huge increases to what your salaries expenses are. Machinery and repair costs took a huge bump up post-COVID and still been very sticky, certainly not any cheaper to have access to those things.”

When Will The Farm Economy Improve?

Wilder added for many producers, especially those in the crop sector, 2025 has been painful when it comes 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 that Strait of Hormuz," Wilder said. "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."