BOISE, Idaho — Idaho lost ground in 2015 among the 11 Western states in the rankings for farm cash receipts and net farm income but remained No. 1 when it comes to those categories on a per capita basis.
University of Idaho agricultural economist Ben Eborn said the rankings show how Western states compare with each other in agricultural terms, but he compiles them to show policymakers how critical farming is to the state.
The 2015 data, based on USDA Economic Research Service numbers, became available this week.
California retained its No. 1 overall ranking for the West, and United States, with $47 billion in farm cash receipts in 2015 and $14.6 billion in net farm income. Washington kept its No. 2 ranking for cash receipts with $10.2 billion and generated $3.3 billion in net farm income, taking the No. 2 ranking in that category from Idaho, which had $1.8 billion in net farm income.
Idaho, which also ranked third in cash receipts with $7.5 billion, had ranked No. 2 in net farm income the previous two years, but Washington moved past Idaho last year in that category.
