Value of Idaho’s 2015 Agricultural Production Totals $7.77 Billion

The value of Idaho’s 2015 agricultural production was $7.77 billion, down 12 percent from the previous year’s revised value of $8.83 billion. The value of Idaho’s crop production in 2015 was $3.02 billion, down 8 percent from 2014. The value of livestock production in 2015 totaled $4.75 billion, down 15 percent from the previous year. Much of the decrease in the total value of production can be attributed to the 26 percent decrease in the value of milk production. Despite the decline, milk remains the leading agricultural commodity in the state with a 2015 value of $2.36 billion. This is the lowest value of milk production since 2010. Milk represented 30 percent of the 2015 total agricultural value compared with 36 percent in 2014. Cattle and calves remained in the second position and had value of production totaling $1.69 billion dollars in 2015, down 1 percent from 2014. Potatoes ranked third in 2015, moving up one position from the previous year. Potato value of production in 2015 was $913 million, down 5 percent from the previous year. Hay value of production was $815 million, down 15 percent from 2014, dropping one spot to fourth in the state ranking. Wheat rounded out the top five with a value of $449 million, down 23 percent from the previous year. These five commodities had a combined value of $6.22 billion, or 80 percent of the 2015 value for all commodities (excluding government payments). The same five commodities in 2014 had a combined value of $7.41 billion, or 84 percent of the total value. All of the top five commodities declined in value from 2014. Onions moved into the top ten in 2015, up from the eleventh rank in 2014. Trout, which held the tenth position in 2014, moved down one position in 2015.   There were commodities outside the top five that showed significant increases in value from the previous year. Barley production, with a value of $330 million in 2015, increased 25 percent from the previous year. Hop value, at $30.8 million, reached a record high in 2015. This was up 64 percent from the previous year. The value of apples, at $15.0 million, increased 71 percent from the previous year. Seven of the top ten commodities declined in value from the previous year. Other notable commodities outside the top ten that declined in value in 2015 were dry edible peas, down 18 percent to $9.38 million; peaches, down 25 percent to $6.25 million; and canola, down 38 percent to $6.05 million.