Beef boom pushes cattle past dairy as Idaho’s top agricultural commodity in 2025
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EDITOR’S NOTE: “From the Field” is a weekly feature bringing you the latest agriculture news in eastern Idaho.
IDAHO FALLS — For the first time in more than two decades, cattle and calves surpassed dairy as Idaho’s top farm commodity in 2025.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture released its Farm Income and Wealth Statistics report on Sept. 3, which lists the gross revenue farmers and ranchers receive in each state from selling their agricultural products
The report shows that Idaho’s cattle and calf market in 2025 earned about $3.9 billion in cash receipts, a 17% increase from $3.3 billion in 2024. It narrowly beat out the dairy product and milk sector, which came in at No. 2 with more than $3.8 billion.
The dairy market has been Idaho’s No. 1 ag commodity since 2003, according to a report from the University of Idaho. It attributes most of the increase in the cattle and calf sector to “record beef cattle prices.”
“A portion can be attributed to the impact of high-value beef on dairy cross calves,” the U of I says.
A dairy cross calf is a calf born to a dairy cow that has been bred with a beef bull to enhance its value for meat production. The practice has become increasingly popular as beef prices have climbed.
While cash receipts of cattle and calves have steadily grown in Idaho since 2020, the U of I says the Idaho beef cow inventory fell 4% in 2024. The USDA reported in September that the American beef herd is at a 75-year low, and it introduced the Ranchers First initiative aimed at “fortifying the American beef industry.”
RELATED | USDA wants to rebuild the American beef herd. Idaho ranchers aren’t sold yet
“Idaho’s efforts to begin rebuilding its cow herd were slowed by the loss of range due to wildfires in 2024,” the U of I says in its report. “The U.S. beef cow herd is expected to grow again in 2026.”
After a year of record beef prices, the U of I is expecting its rise to the highest of all Idaho agricultural commodities to be short-lived.
“Revenues from milk production are expected to reclaim their place as the highest of all agricultural commodities produced in Idaho in 2026 or 2027,” it says.
Statewide, milk, cattle and calves, and other livestock, made up 68% of total agricultural cash receipts in 2025. The livestock sector was responsible for “nearly all revenue gains” in Idaho agriculture over the last two years.
“Except for 2009 — a year of disastrously poor milk prices — livestock cash receipts have surpassed crop cash receipts for every year since 2001. In 2025, livestock cash receipts are estimated to surpass crop cash receipts by more than $4.3 billion,” according to U of I.
Potatoes, Idaho’s largest cash crop, were the third-highest commodity in 2025. Cash receipts were estimated at $1.1 billion, a slight decline from $1.25 billion in 2024.
RELATED | Eastern Idaho spud harvest underway as farmers grapple with drought, heat
Rounding out the top five, wheat came in at No. 4 with about $518 million in cash receipts. That amount is a 15% decrease from $610 million in 2024. Sugar beets ranked at No. 5, with a total of $460 million in farm cash receipts, a 2% decrease from $470 million.
RELATED | Idaho sugar beet growers face a bitter harvest — and an uncertain future
The USDA’s full report is available here. U of I’s report on the financial condition of agriculture can be accessed here.
AG AT-A-GLANCE
Idaho Dept. of Water Resources hosting water summit
BOISE — The Idaho Department of Water Resources and Boise State University will host the Idaho Fall Water Summit.
The two-day event is happening on Nov. 17 and 18 and will be held in the Student Union Building at Boise State University. It will focus on Idaho’s water landscape. The snow drought across this year raised urgent questions about what happened, what it means for the year ahead, and what it signals for our longer-term water future.
The summit will highlight cutting-edge, innovative water resources research through presentations and a student poster session.
It builds on last year’s water supply meeting, and will provide a recap, along with climate and water supply outlook information for 2027.
To register or learn more, click here.
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