Economic Contribution of Idaho Agribusiness 2025
Gross Contribution of Idaho Agribusiness, 2024
In Idaho in 2024, agribusiness alone (not including linked sectors) contributed
• $32.7 billion in sales
• 79,000 Idaho jobs
• $8.85 billion in value added¹
Source: Author calculations using IMPLAN (Impact Analysis for Planning) data.
Source: US Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Data (SAGDP9), gross domestic product by state and industry, 2017–24.
¹V alue added is the sum of employee compensation, proprietary income, returns to capital, and indirect business taxes and is a measure of a sector’s contribution to gross state product (GSP).
Base Contribution of Idaho Agribusiness, 2024
In addition to direct contributions to the Idaho economy, agribusiness exports generate economic activity in other sectors of the Idaho economy. Accounting for linkages between agribusiness and other sectors, Idaho agribusiness and the economic activity it generates in other sectors accounted for
• $44.5 billion in sales or 17.2% of Idaho’s total economic output
• 137,900 Idaho jobs or approximately 1 in every 9 jobs in the state
• $15.8 billion in value added or 12.0% of total Idaho GSP
Source: Author calculations using IMPLAN data.
Definitions
agribusiness. The vertically integrated industrial complex that comprises all production agriculture— crop farming and livestock production—and the processing of agricultural products.
The total economic contribution of agribusiness to the Idaho economy can be described in two ways, using gross values and base values.
base values. These include the agribusiness sector’s export activity and the economic activity it spawns within other sectors and the state economy. The base sales contribution of the agribusiness sector, for example, is calculated as the sector’s sales outside the state times the sector’s multiplier. In gross analysis, the sale of a tire to a wheat producer would be credited to the state economy’s retail trade sector; in base analysis, it would be credited to agribusiness.
gross values. Government-reported measures of economic activity in agribusiness—output (sales), jobs, and value added.
Measuring gross values is an accounting task.
In base analysis, the total economic contribution of agribusiness is made up of direct and indirect contributions:
direct contributions. Jobs, value added, and output attributable to the out-of-state export of crop and livestock products.
indirect contributions. These are generated when agribusiness firms purchase materials and services from other Idaho businesses to produce their exports.
Direct and indirect contributions are reported in terms of jobs, sales, value added, and wages:
jobs. These represent wage-earning and salaried employees, including self-employed works, in agribusiness.
sales. These represent output of the agribusiness sector.
value added. Proprietary income and wages plus indirect taxes and other property-type income such as payments for rents, royalties, and dividends. Value added and GSP are equivalent measures in total but are estimated using different methods and data sources.
wages. Payments to workers, including benefits.
Sources:
English, L., J. Popp, and E. W. Miller. 2013. “Economic Contribution of the Agricultural Sector to the Arkansas Economy in 2011.” Research Report 992. Fayetteville: Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
Taylor, G., B. Eborn, P. Watson, and A. Rodriguez. 2012. Contribution of Agribusiness to Idaho’s Economy, 2010 (CIS 1186). Moscow, ID: University of Idaho Extension. Watson, P., S. Cooke, D. Kay, and G. Alward. 2015. “A Method for Improving Economic Contribution Studies for Regional Analysis.” Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy 45(1):1–15.
Contribution of Agribusiness to Idaho’s Economic Base
Sales Contribution of the Agribusiness Sector in Idaho, 2024*
Agribusiness contributed
• $44.5 billion in total sales, which means that agribusiness was responsible for generating 17.2% of the state’s total sales in 2024.
• $15.8 billion in value added or 12.0% of total Idaho GSP.
• 137,900 jobs, which is approximately 1 in every 9 jobs in the state.
• $8.2 billion in wages (including farmer/ proprietor income), which is over $1 of every $10 of wages paid in the state of Idaho.
Source: Author calculations using IMPLAN data.
Value Added Contribution of the Agribusiness Sector in Idaho, 2024*
*Individual values may not sum to total due to rounding.
Source: Author calculations using IMPLAN data.
Agribusiness in Idaho Versus Neighboring States
The agribusiness sector accounts for a greater share of the state economy in Idaho than in all its neighboring states and the United States as a whole.2
Even without including the indirect effects, in 2024 agribusiness contributed 7% to Idaho GSP. In comparison to neighboring states, this is
• 4.4 times greater than in Washington
• 2.8 times greater than in Oregon
• 10.0 times greater than in Nevada
• 3.9 times greater than in Utah
• 4.1 times greater than in Wyoming
• 2.2 times greater than in Montana
• 3.2 times greater than in the United States as a whole
Source: Author calculations using US Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Data (SAGDP2), GDP by state and industry data, 2024.
2 Based on calculations of the percent contribution of the agribusiness sector to each state’s GSP.
National Rankings: Crop and Livestock Production
Idaho has been the top producer of potatoes, barley, peppermint oil, alfalfa, and trout among all US states, based on 2023 production levels. Idaho ranks among the top 8 states in the production of 22 crop and livestock commodities, including
No. 1 in Potatoes
No. 1 in Barley
No. 1 in Trout
No. 1 in Peppermint Oil
No. 1 in Alfalfa
No. 2 in Hops
No. 3 in Sugar Beets
No. 3 in Cheese
No. 3 in Milk
No. 3 in Milk Cows
No. 4 in Wheat (Spring)
No. 4 in Onions
No. 4 in Lentils
No. 4 in Dry Peas
No. 5 in Wheat (All)
No. 5 in Haylage
No. 5 in Wool
No. 6 in Dry Beans
No. 6 in Hay (All)
No. 6 in Sheep and Lambs
No. 7 in Corn (Silage)
No. 8 in Wheat (Winter)
No. 10 in Honey
No. 11 in Cattle and Calves (All)
Source: National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2024 Idaho Annual Statistical Bulletin.
National Rankings: Gross Production and Market Value of Agricultural Products Sold
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Idaho ranked
• No. 16 in value of total crops sold, including nursery and greenhouse
• No. 15 in value of field crops
• No. 12 in value of fruits, nuts, and vegetables sold
In 2024, Idaho cash receipts from all agricultural commodities totaled approximately $11.8 billion, with approximately $7.5 billion from animals and their products and $4.3 billion from crops.
Source: USDA Crop Values 2024 Summary (ISSN: 1949-0372) and USDA Economic Research Service, cash receipts by commodity, state ranking, 2024.
Idaho Agricultural Exports
Idaho ranked twenty-first nationally in total international agricultural exports in 2024, with a value of $2.8 billion. Plant product exports accounted for $1.8 billion of total Idaho agricultural exports and animal product exports accounted for $1.1 billion.
Idaho ranked in the top six in the nation for international exports of four major commodities:
• No. 3 in fresh vegetables, with international exports valued at $188 million
• No. 3 in processed vegetables, with international exports valued at $366 million
• No. 4 in dairy, with international exports valued at $630 million
• No. 6 in wheat, with international exports valued at $316 million
Source: USDA Economic Research Service, US agricultural exports, commodity detail by state, 2024.
Receipts and Production
Nominal Cash Receipts for Idaho’s Crop and Livestock Commodities, 2019–24
Source: USDA Economic Research Service, cash receipts by commodity.
Agricultural Commodities:
Production Production and Rank of Idaho Crop and Livestock Commodities, 2023
Gross Economic Contribution: Idaho Crops
Idaho’s crops sector includes all activities in the production and support of potatoes, sugar beets, food and feed, grains, hay and pasture, fruits, nuts, vegetables, and oil-bearing crops and support services for crop farming such as custom harvester operations.
Gross Contribution of Crop Production to the Idaho Economy, 2024
Jobs 32,400
Wages $1.6 billion
Value Added $2.3 billion
Based on the gross contribution of crop farming to the Idaho economy, crop farming is responsible for
• 41% of all agribusiness jobs
• 37% of all agribusiness wages
• 26% of all agribusiness value added
Source: Author calculations using IMPLAN data.
Gross Economic Contribution: Idaho Livestock
Idaho’s animal livestock sector includes the production of beef, dairy products, poultry, eggs, trout, and other animals and their products.
Gross Contribution of Livestock Production, Including Dairy, to the Idaho Economy, 2024
Jobs 21,800
Wages $1.0 billion
Value Added $2.4 billion
Based on the gross contribution of livestock production to the Idaho economy, livestock production is responsible for
• 28% of all agribusiness jobs
• 23% of all agribusiness wages
• 27% of all agribusiness value added
Source: Author calculations using IMPLAN data.
Gross Economic Contribution:
Idaho Agricultural Processing
Idaho’s agricultural processing sector makes products from both crops and livestock. Examples include grain milling, sugarbeet processing, and cheese manufacturing.
Gross Contribution of Agricultural Processing to the Idaho Economy, 2024
Jobs 24,850
Wages $1.8 billion
Value Added $4.1 billion
Based on the gross contribution of agricultural processing to the Idaho economy, agricultural processing is responsible for
• 31% of all agribusiness jobs
• 40% of all agribusiness wages
• 46% of all agribusiness value added
Source: Author calculations using IMPLAN data.
Indirect Contribution of Agribusiness to Idaho Jobs
Idaho agribusiness operations generated 63,920 jobs in other sectors of the Idaho economy in 2024.
Contribution of Agribusiness to Jobs in Other Sectors
Indirect Contribution of Agribusiness to Value Added Added
Idaho agribusiness generated $7.7 billion in value added in other sectors of Idaho’s economy in 2024.
Contribution of Agribusiness to Value Added in Other Sectors
Source: Author calculations using IMPLAN data.
Source: Author calculations using IMPLAN data.
Idaho’s Top Agribusiness
Counties
Total 2022 Cash Receipts for Agricultural Crops and Livestock by County
Bulletin 892 Published February 2026 © 2026 by the University of Idaho