Idaho Wheat Commission (IWC) has approved its budget for the upcoming year, but it has not yet experienced the anticipated boost from the increased assessments in 2023. Farmers are holding onto their wheat longer this year, waiting for more favorable prices. The budget, based on last year's revenue projections, is allocated into three equal parts: research, market development, and communications. The recent board meeting also included discussions about plans for constructing a new building. This new facility, designed to represent the industry's future, is considered the best investment of assessment dollars.

In a recent board meeting, Idaho Wheat Commission (IWC) commissioners nominated and unanimously elected Commissioner Cliff Tacke, Greencreek, to serve as the commission chairman for the 2025 fiscal year. At the same time, Commissioner Joe Anderson, Genesee, was nominated and elected to serve as vice chairman for the same time period. Wayne Hurst and Cliff Tacke previoulsy held the positions of chair and vice chair respectively. Commissioners are appointed by the governor to serve a five-year term that can be renewed for a second term.

Britany Hurst Marchant, Executive Director of the Idaho Wheat Commission, has been elected as vice chair of the Wheat Foods Council (WFC) for the 2024-25 year. Along with WFC President Tim O'Connor and the affilitated agency Sterling-Rice Group (SRG), the officers will develop a plan to boost demand for wheat foods in the domestic market.

The Universitiy of Idaho is advancing organic and sustainable crop production with the aid of artifiical intelligence, thanks to a $120,000 grant. The Idaho Global Entrepreneurial Mission (IGEM) grant will fund testing, deployment, and enhancement of AI systems currently being trialed across the U.S., aiming to access microclimate and environmental data to refine sustainable farming techniques.

U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) recently received $4.8 million for the Market Access Program (MAP) and $3.4 million for Foreign Market Development (FMD). As the export market development organization for the U.S. wheat industry, USW promotes the reliability, quality, and value of all wheat classes to buyers, millers, bakers, and government officials in over 100 countries around the world.

The White House has announced the formation of a Columbia River task force and released a report detailing the impacts of 11 federal dams on Native American tribes in the region. According to the White House Council on Envrionmental Quality, federal dams in the Columbia River basin have long provided renewable energy and numerous other benefits, but they have alse caused and continue to cause significant harm to tribal communities.

After weeks of negotiations between Idaho's surface water users and groundwater districts, a compromise has been reached, averting a potential water curtailment order from the Idaho Department of Water Resources. This temporary agreement ensures that farmers along the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer will continue to have access to water for this growing season. About two-thirds of Idaho's wheat is grown under irrigation.