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Partly cloudy this morning. Increasing clouds with periods of showers this afternoon. High 56F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40%..
Tonight
Light rain early. Then remaining mainly cloudy. Low 33F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Updated: April 4, 2021 @ 10:33 am
James Dawson / Boise State Public Radio
Idahoans are once again pushing back against a legislative attempt to make it harder for citizens to get an initiative on the ballot.
The Senate State Affairs Committee Friday signed off on a bill requiring these campaigns to get a certain number of signatures from each of Idaho s 35 legislative districts.
Right now, organizers just need those signatures from half of Idaho’s legislative districts to put an issue to voters.
Sen. Steve Vick (R-Dalton Gardens), who’s sponsoring the bill, said he’s not trying to disenfranchise those who live in cities.
“Urban voters have different interests,” Vick said Wednesday during the first of two days-worth of testimony. “It doesn’t make them less important or more important, but they are, in many cases, different.”
College of ag moving forward on several big ag projects
By Sean Ellis
Idaho Farm Bureau Federation
BOISE - Michael Parrella, dean of University of Idaho s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, has said several times over the past five years that he did not take the position to maintain the status quo.
Speaking to members of the House Agricultural Affairs Committee Jan. 26, Parrella, who took over as dean on Feb. 1, 2016, repeated his statement that he didn t become dean to keep the status quo. I want to move things forward, Parrella said.
He then gave lawmakers an overview of some of the major projects recently completed or underway at CALS that he believes will help propel the state s farming industry to future success.
Outlook varies for farm equipment sales during COVID
By Bill Schaefer
For Idaho Farm Bureau Federation
POCATELLO - While the U.S. economy continues to slowly recover from the impacts of COVID-19, a recent report indicates that U.S. agriculture enjoyed record net farm income during 2020.
Net farm income in Idaho and the United States are both estimated to have increased substantially in 2020.
With the increased farm income, said UI Agricultural Economist Garth Taylor, Idaho farmers and ranchers should be sheltering their increased revenue with land or equipment purchases. Where are they going to shelter this? Taylor asked rhetorically. Well, they re going to incur some additional expenses and try to update their equipment line and try to buy land and other expenses.