As “America’s Most Diverse Food Basket”, food production, processing and science serve as the economic foundation for southern Idaho’s robust economy. Southern Idaho’s six-county “Magic Valley” region leads the states agribusiness industry by contributing over 54% of the state’s ag receipts for 2013. With southern Idaho ag production in 18 categories ranking in the top 4 in Idaho and in 28 categories in the top 13 nationally, this unique region boasts some impressive agribusiness stats:
- Sold more than $7 billion of related goods and services and contributed $3.4 billion to Idaho’s gross state product
- Over 15,000 of total area jobs are farm or processing related
- Over 1/3 of Magic Valley jobs are directly or indirectly created by agribusiness
- 67% of employers are in food manufacturing
- Southern Idaho ranks in the top third of U.S. states for food processing
The area boasts a strong agricultural base of row crop farming of sugar beets, potatoes, barely, winter/summer wheat, oats and seed production as well as pork processing, cattle/calves, dairy production/processing, aquaculture and even lamb, mink and honey production. Few if any other region in the country has this depth in agribusiness.
These diverse food categories have generated a wide range of products and complimentary support services that sustain and help grow this economic base including food processing, food science, R&D, warehousing, distribution, cheese/yogurt production, potato processing and meat processing to name a few.
Dairy & Cheese
Nowhere else in Idaho are there more dairy farms than in southern Idaho. Almost half of agribusiness export sales are from the area’s dairy processing industry. This region is ideal for dairy farming, offering excellent cow feed availability for quality and generally cool year-round climate that improves milk production. Nearly 56% of Idaho dairy farms and over 76% of dairies are located just in southern Idaho. This region accounts for 72% of the state’s milk production, securing the state’s #4 rank in the U.S. for milk and #3 rank in cheese production. Southern Idaho ranks #1 in cheese production for the state.
Producing over 37 million pounds of milk per day, southern Idaho’s Magic Valley dairy processing accounts for over $4 billion in sales (28%). Over 875 million pounds of cheese was produced here in 2013. Chobani brand Greek Yogurt, America’s #1 selling yogurt brand, operates the largest yogurt processing plant in the world in Twin Falls. Chobani selected southern Idaho largely because of the substantial supply of available milk and stringent standards for milk quality.
Several cheese manufacturers have operated here for many years supporting the dairy industry.
Glanbia Foods is the world’s largest producer of American Style cheese. Headquartered in Twin Falls, Idaho, Glanbia processes nearly 12 million pounds of milk everyday into cheese from two world class manufacturing facilities in southern Idaho. With the help of more than 680 employees, Glanbia and its sister company Southwest Cheese makes, sells and ships more than 880 million pounds of cheese annually serving customers in more than 30 countries.
Other southern Idaho major cheese processors include Jerome Cheese, Brewster Cheese, Gossner Foods and Ballard Cheese.
Glanbia Foods, Idaho Milk Products, High Desert Milk, Darigold, Cloverleaf Creamery and Commercial Creamery produce whey, milk protein powders,
concentrated filtrated milk, milk lactose permeate powder and or cream for use in nutritional supplements, cheese, yogurt and other dairy based foods.
Calva Products, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of infant animal milk formulas and care products. Their milk replacer facility, built next to Brewster West Cheese,
converts Brewster’s and other local manufacturers’ cheese by-products into liquid m ilk replacer for calves.
Southern Idaho Rank
Idaho Rank | National Rank | |
---|---|---|
Dairy Cows | 1 | 4 |
Cheese | 1 | 3 |
Milk Production | 1 | 4 |
Potatoes & Sugar Beets
Potato and sugar processing in southern Idaho fall right behind dairy processing in economic impact for the region, at 12% and 9% respectively.
Con Agra/Lamb-Weston is the #1 producer of frozen French fries in the United States and a leading supplier of frozen potato, appetizer and vegetable products to restaurants and consumers throughout the world.
McCain Foods – the world’s largest processor of French fries, producing 1/3 of the world’s supply. Arrowhead Potatoes, Purely Supreme Foods and Rite Stuff Foods – which specializes in twice-baked stuffed potatoes, potato skins and whole backed potatoes for the food service, retail and restaurant industry – also have operations here.
Southern Idaho is the largest producer of sugar beets in Idaho and one of the largest in the United States. Sugar beet farming has gross sales of $140 million with virtually all beets processed locally. Amalgamated Sugar operates two large plants here and one of the premier research and development facilities for sugar in t he United States.
Southern Idaho Rank
Idaho Rank | National Rank | |
---|---|---|
Potatoes | 2 | 1 |
Sugar Beets | 1 | 3 |
Livestock
Southern Idaho ranks #1 in the state for cattle/calves, pork processing, sheep/lambs and wool. Independent Meat Company -100 year family owned – is the largest pork products processor in the Intermountain West distributing under the Falls Brand and Salmon Creek labels. A full line of related pork products are distributed nationally and to the Pacific Rim. The region ranks #1 in Idaho in cattle/calves as well as lamb, sheep and wool. Meat processors include Carlin, Allan Ward 7 Brothers Meats, Dale T. Smith Meat Packing and Scarrow Meats. Hy-Line North America has the only nationwide chick production network in the American egg industry with several regional production centers with one in southern Idaho. Buffalo and Yak operators are also being established here. The regions’s growing sheep/lamb industry provides consumers with quality lamb and wool products.
Southern Idaho Rank
Idaho Rank | National Rank | |
---|---|---|
Cattle/Calves | 1 | 13 |
Pork Processing | 1 | n/a |
Sheep/Lamb | 1 | 7 |
Wool | 1 | 7 |
Crops
Millions of acres of premium crops like dry edible beans, spring/winter wheat, barley, alfalfa, oats and seeds are grown in Southern Idaho every year producing the widest variety of bean seed in the U.S. Over half of dry beans grown here are for seed and both seed and edible dry beans are shipped all over the world. Coors, Anheuser Busch, and other breweries contract with southern Idaho farmers to produce malting barley. Any extra barley is processed at local grain elevators and used for livestock feed.
The region is also an international seed breeding and production area. Sugar Snap Peas were first developed in this region in 1979. Numerous premier seed developers and producers call this region home including Kelly Bean Co., Centennial Seed Co., Idaho Seed Bean Co., Kimberly Seeds International, Inc., Rangen, Inc., Soranco Bean Products, Gentec, Inc, Seneca Foods, Agrisource, B etaseed, Harris Moran Seed Co. , Seminis and Reed Grain & Been Co..
Southern Idaho Rank
Idaho Rank | National Rank | |
---|---|---|
Dry Edible Beans | 2 | 4 |
Alfalfa Hay | 1 | 2 |
Barley | 2 | 2 |
Bean Seeds | 2 | n/a |
Spring Wheat | 3 | 5 |
Winter Wheat | 3 | 9 |
Fish & Aquaculture
Southern Idaho’s Snake River aquifer and countless springs with constant 58 degree water make this region ideal for raising trout and other fish. The world’s largest trout farm, Clear Springs Foods is the world’s largest commercial freshwater Rainbow Trout farm and #1 producer of commercial fresh Rainbow Trout in the United States producing 25 million pounds in 2013.
Clear Springs is a vertically integrated company; including a state-of-the-art trout farms, trout processing, feed manufacturing and R&D facilities is the #1 producer of commercial trout in the U.S. and in Idaho producing 22 million pounds of trout annually. Southern Idaho accounts for 77% of food size trout sold nationally.
Fish Breeders utilize the natural abundance of 90 degree geothermal water to fuel a successful aquaculture operation of catfish, tilapia, caviar and over 60 species of tropical fish. Silver Creek Farms is another premier producer and processor of a variety of freshwater fish including rainbow trout and tilapia. SeaPac of Idaho produces boneless Rainbow Trout and some tilapia. Other aquaculture operations include Rangen, Affordable Caviar, Canyon Springs and Rana Ranch Bullfrogs.
Southern Idaho Rank
Idaho Rank | National Rank | |
---|---|---|
Commercial Trout | 1 | 1 |
Honey & Mink
Southern Idaho ranks #1 in Idaho for honey beehives. Belliston Brothers Apiaries, Morts Apiaries, Inc., Tubbs Berry Farm and B & B Apiaries produce thousands of pounds of honey annually. Southern Idaho is the largest producer of mink in Idaho and fourth nationally with eight different mink farms that export products to China, Russia, Greece and Korea.
Moyle Mink Farms is one of the world’s first vertically integrated farms producing, tanning and manufacturing coats and accessories and is on of seven area mink farms.
Southern Idaho Rank
Idaho Rank | National Rank | |
---|---|---|
Honey | 4 | 12 |
Mink | 1 | 3 |