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03/25/2025 SOURCE: www.agproud.com

Declining Agricultural Representation in Idaho’s Legislature Idaho’s legislature has seen a steep decline in members with agricultural backgrounds, dropping from 50% in 1985 to around 20% today. This shift reflects broader national trends, where urban influence is growing, and farmers face greater challenges getting elected due to time, money, and aggressive political campaigns. Though legislators unfamiliar with agriculture are often willing to learn, their ideologies can sometimes impede progress on critical issues like water management and livestock inspection fees. Experts urge farmers and ranchers to engage directly with legislators, offering farm tours and building relationships to ensure agriculture’s concerns are represented and understood in policymaking.

Number of farmers and ranchers serving in legislature declining

Are your state representatives farmers or ranchers? Does your state senator come from a career in ag? Does anyone from your legislative district even have ties to production agriculture? According to Doug Jones, state representative from 1985-2005, for the 2025 session, he counts around 20 members of both houses as agriculturalists.

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