b'Magic Valley (Cassia, Lincoln, Minidoka, Gooding,per acre raising quinoa than wheat or barley, but they Jerome, and Twin Falls counties) is the epicenter ofalso face greater risk. Production techniques are still Idahos agribusiness industry. According to a studybeing perfected in the region, and the possibility conducted by the University of Idaho Extension, of crop failure is somewhat greater. Currently, the largest buyers of Idahoan quinoa crops are the U.S. Agribusiness is a vertically integrated industrialmilitary, a Boise company that processes gluten-free complex engaged in the production and processingquinoa our, another Idaho company developing a of food. The production and marketing channels ofline of quinoa tots, local grocery stores, and additional the agribusiness industry extend from farm suppliersbuyers in California and South Korea.6to farmers and ranchers, food processors and food retailers, and end with domestic consumers orHempinternational markets. The farm is the intermediateAs of 2020, Idaho is one of only two states, along link in the Magic Valley agribusiness complex,with Mississippi, that do not allow production of with backward linkages to farm suppliers andindustrial hemp. Furthermore, potential growers will service providers (fertilizer and seed suppliers,have to wait until at least 2022 to begin planting. farm equipment dealerships, accountants, etc.) andHemp plants are the same species as marijuana, forward linkages to food processors (fries, cheese,but industrial hemp contains less than 0.3 percent and sugar processors, etc.). In turn, food retailersTHC, the psychoactive compound. Industrial hemp and restaurants are linked to processors, but theyis used in thousands of products legally sold in the are excluded from the measure of agribusinesssUnited States, but it has been illegal to grow until contribution to the Magic Valley economy.4 recently. In 2018 a federal bill classied hemp as a regular agricultural crop, though states were left to As for the rest of Idaho, agribusiness exports rippledetermine how to handle hemp production within throughout the economy, creating indirect economictheir boundaries; Idaho state law considers hemp activity for other regional businesses. Thanks to thesewith any amount of THC equivalent to marijuana, linkages between agribusiness and other sectors, ineectively banning all varieties of hemp production.2017 Idaho agribusiness and the economic activity itIdahoan policy makers who oppose the growing of generates in other sectors accounted for, hemp within the state also argue the plant could be$26.4 billion in sales, or 18% of Idahos totalused to camouage marijuana and that it is the rst economic output step toward legalizing marijuana in Idaho. Those in123,100 Idaho jobs, or approximately 1 in everyfavor of hemp growing say it would provide Idaho 8 jobs in the state farmers with another option and would t well into$9.6 billion in value added, or 13% of totalsome crop rotations. Plus, industrial hemp production Idaho GSP5 could generate $40,000 to $50,000 per acre. Hemp may one day be a cash crop for Idaho, but not in the CASE STUDIES OF SIGNIFICANTforeseeable future.7AGRICULTURAL ENDEAVORS Fish FarmingQuinoa Idahos sh farming industry has declined over the East Idaho is now North Americas largest producerpast 15 years. The six primary factors aecting sh of quinoa. Quinoa crops thrive in high-altitude, dryfarming in Idaho are,climates and require shorter growing seasons than wheat, making it a good candidate for East Idahos1. Consolidation and Declining Employment: climate. Though quinoa requires less water and fewerConsolidation has resulted from water-rights farming inputs than wheat, some farmers are hesitantproblems, aging farmers, increased regulations,to grow it because there are no herbicides labeled forand economies of scale. From 2005 to 2015, use in quinoa. Furthermore, farmers can earn moreemployment on sh farms fell by about 14 percent.12 I D A H O I N F R A S T R U C T U R E G U I D E B O O K'