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October 21, 2016 CapitalPress.com 11 Idaho Subscribe to our weekly Idaho email newsletter at CapitalPress.com/newsletters Food Producers of Idaho to end the Ag Pavilion By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press BOISE — Food Producers of Idaho has announced it is ending a long-standing pro- gram involving agricultural or- ganizations that cooperatively staff educational booths at two Idaho fairs. Rick Waitley, executive di- rector of Food Producers, said the program, called the Agri- cultural Pavilion, has been a “tremendous success” since its inception 22 years ago at the Western Idaho Fair in Boi- se, but the organization wants to invest its resources in new areas. Members made the deci- sion to end the program during a Sept. 28 meeting and subse- quently sent out letters alerting groups that participated in the Ag Pavilion of the decision. “We’re looking for other opportunities — several things that might be good things for us to look at,” Waitley said, adding the organization might participate in four or ive smaller venues. Agricultural groups that participate in Food Producers meet regularly during the leg- islative session, and less fre- quently during the rest of the year, to discuss issues of im- portance to their industry. The Ag Pavilion includes several booths from agricul- tural groups — 51 groups had booths in the most recent pa- vilion — in a common area focused on educating visitors about Idaho agriculture. It also includes games and activities for children. The second pavilion ini- tially alternated between the Twin Falls County Fair and Sean Ellis/Capital Press Tom and Terry Riemenapp learn about farming and Idaho agricul- ture Aug. 23 in the Agriculture Pavilion at the Western Idaho Fair in Boise. Food Producers of Idaho recently decided to discontinue hosting the Agricultural Pavilion. the Eastern Idaho State Fair in Blackfoot but pulled out of Eastern Idaho. It has re- mained a ixture for the past decade in Twin Falls, where Farm Bureau and Food Pro- ducers inanced construction of a permanent building to host it. “We feel the investment we’ve made in these two fairs has been very valuable,” Waitley said. “At the same time, because of the invest- ment we’ve made, we maybe haven’t explored some other things.” John Pitz, manager of the Twin Falls County Fair, vowed to maintain an agri- cultural theme in the building where the pavilion has been hosted. “I can work with Farm Bu- reau and igure out what to put in there that would be ag-re- lated,” Pitz said. Waitley estimated the an- nual cost of organizing the Ag Pavilion at $30,000, but said Food Producers netted a near- ly $10,000 average proit, af- ter accounting for individual booth fees and other revenue, such as sales from a country store in the pavilion. The pa- vilion’s proits have enabled Food Producers to hold the line on dues, Waitley said. However, Wyatt Prescott, president of Food Producers and former executive vice president with Idaho Cattle Association, said it was get- ting tougher to ind volunteers to staff the Ag Pavilion, which required a lot of work to host. “I don’t think anybody was thrilled about being done with it,” Prescott said. Prescott anticipates Food Producers will now increase its focus on educating state policymakers about agricul- tural issues. Mark Dufin, executive director of Idaho Sugarbeet Growers Association and co-chairman of Food Produc- ers’ subcommittee governing Ag Pavilion, added, “Some- times it’s good to change and take a new approach to reach some new people.” South Dakota woman granted wish to attend Idaho sheep festival By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press The annual Trailing of the Sheep Festival draws thou- sands of people from all over the world to Idaho’s Wood River Valley each October. This year, it drew one very special guest — 20-year-old Shelby Huff, who was given full VIP treatment during the ive-day festival through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Huff, of Hill City, S.D., was granted a wish because of complications from aplas- tic anemia, a rare and serious bone marrow disorder. She was diagnosed with the con- dition in November 2012 and spent the next two and a half years in and out of hospitals enduring invasive treatments and painful and life-threaten- ing complications. She says she’s healed now, graduated from high school in May and is attending Western Dakota Technical Institute in the pursuit of becoming a reg- istered nurse. It took time to get around to her “wish” and she could have chosen to go anywhere and do anything. “Ultimately, Trailing of the Sheep was my wish,” she said Carol Ryan Dumas/Capital Press Courtesy of Trailing of Sheep Festival Shelby Huff (fourth from left) poses with her mother, sister and grandparents in the hills outside Ketchum near the band of sheep that would take center stage in the Trailing of the Sheep parade. during a phone interview after her Idaho adventure. The festival, marking its 20th anniversary this year, celebrates the rich history and culture of sheep ranching in the Wood River Valley. Huff is not connected to ranching but loves sheep and says they are “super duper cute and adorable.” Her mother, sister and grandparents shared in her wish trip, which began with a surprise reception at the Boise airport, complete with balloons, banners and Basque dancers. “It was so cool,” she said, although it took a while to register. Then it was “oh my gosh, they’re all here for me. Oh my gosh this is such an amazing greeting,” she said. But that was just the begin- ning. Huff and her family had another reception at sheep fes- tival headquarters in Ketchum and were then settled in at a “super nice” upscale condo, which would serve as their home base. The VIP treatment contin- ued throughout the festival, where Huff and the family participated with a trainer in the sheepdog trials, attend- ed the folklife fair and i- ber-arts classes, lamb tastings, the Sheep Tales Gathering, Sheepherder’s Ball and the The Trailing of the Sheep Festival in downtown Ketchum, Idaho, is seen in this 2015 photo. The Make-a-Wish Foundation this year granted 20-year-old Shelby Huff a wish, making her a VIP guest at this year’s festival. Trailing of the Sheep parade. The family was also treated to ly ishing and horseback rid- ing by local outitters. “It was great. I loved the scenery, the culture, the histo- ry, the dancing. It was just an amazing trip,” she said. The Idaho chapter of Make-A-Wish contacted fes- tival oficials in the spring to get the ball rolling, said Laura Musbach Drake, festival ex- ecutive director. “We were really thrilled to give her an experience like this,” she said. Huff is a “darling,” and she and her family were gracious and grateful, she said. “I know they had a great time, and we were sure hon- ored to have them here,” she said. Adding to the VIP experi- ence, the governor proclaimed Oct. 8 “Shelby Huff Day” — a “super-cool” proclamation, Huff said. “The people there are amazing and so sweet, and I really appreciate what they did for me and my family,” she said. By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press BOISE — Agriculture led Idaho’s gains in gross do- mestic product for several years, but that has changed as commodity prices — particularly dairy — have dropped. Idaho’s gross domestic product declined 0.2 percent during the irst quarter of 2016 compared with the fourth quarter of 2015, according to data recently released by the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis. Leading that decline was agriculture, which had driven the state’s large GDP gains in recent years and helped carry Idaho’s economy out of the last recession. Total GDP from the state’s agricultural sector was a sea- sonally adjusted $3.07 bil- lion during the irst quarter of 2016, down 12 percent from $3.5 billion in the fourth quar- ter of 2015. Compared with the irst quarter of 2015, Idaho farm GDP was down 17 percent during the irst quarter of this year. “Leading the charge down- ward was ... a weak ag econo- my,” said University of Idaho Agricultural Economist Garth Taylor. “It’s a reversal from what’s been happening.” Idaho farm GDP increased from $3.6 billion in 2014 to $4 billion in 2013 and then $4.25 billion in 2014. But a reversal began last year. Total Idaho farm GDP fell from $4.25 billion in 2014 to $3.7 billion in 2015, a 13 per- cent drop. During that same period, total Idaho GDP in- creased from $63 billion to $65 billion. When it comes to personal income, the decline is more pronounced. Personal income from Idaho’s farm sector to- taled $1.8 billion during the second quarter of 2016, down 22 percent from $2.3 billion during the second quarter of 2015. Farm proprietor income in Idaho totaled $1.14 billion during the second quarter of 2016, down 31 percent from $1.66 billion during the same period in 2015, according to BEA. The decreases are relected in cash receipts for the state’s top farm commodities. Six of Idaho’s top seven farm com- modities suffered declines in cash receipts in 2015 com- pared with 2014, according to USDA’s Economic Research Service. Idaho farm cash receipts totaled $7.5 billion in 2015, according to ERS data, down 15 percent from $8.8 billion in 2014. Cash receipts for dairy, Idaho’s top farm commodity in terms of revenue, fell from $3.2 billion in 2014 to $2.4 billion in 2015, while reve- nue from cattle and calves declined from $2 billion to $1.95 billion. On the crop side, potato cash receipts declined from $919 million to $872 million, wheat receipts declined from $647 million to $464 million, hay fell from $551 million to $440 million and barley was down from $295 million to $262 million. ROP-40-42-4/#17 Farm commodity price drop impacts Idaho GDP LIVESTOCK & HORSE Special Section Dec. 2nd, 2016 The West is one of the most productive regions for livestock in the United States. 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