Idaho

A

2

Field Crops

Potatoes and wheat are the two principal crops in Idaho. Idaho is the leading producer of potatoes in the nation, accounting for one-third of the national production. Most of the Idaho potatoes are grown on irrigated land along the Snake River. Wheat is grown mainly in the Lewiston area. In areas that receive less than about 380 mm (about 15 in) of rain a year the wheat is grown by so-called dry farming techniques. The land is cultivated for one year and is left uncultivated, or fallow, the following year. Successful dry farming is dependent on the storage of moisture in the soil during the fallow year for use the next year. In more humid areas the land can be cultivated every year. There, wheat is grown in rotation with peas, which greatly improve the fertility of the soil. Other major field crops are hay, beans, sugar beets, and barley.

A

3

Fruit and Specialty Crops

The principal fruit-growing area is in southwestern Idaho, where apples, plums, peaches, cherries, and grapes are grown. Vegetables are grown throughout the Snake River valley. Specialty crops grown in the state include alfalfa seed, hybrid sweet corn, peppermint and spearmint, red clover seed, a great variety of vegetable seeds, hops, and nursery products such as sod grass for lawns and ornamental trees.

A

4

Livestock and Dairy Products

Idaho is an important cattle-raising state and is the 8th largest sheep-raising state. Cattle and sheep are raised in large numbers in the mountains and the drier sections of the state. The leading cattle-raising areas are in the Snake River valley. In summer many ranch cattle herds are grazed on rangelands high in the mountains; in the fall they are returned to the ranches in the valleys, where they are fed on hay and other fodder crops during the winter months. Beef cattle raised on farms remain there throughout the year and are fed on alfalfa and other fodder crops and on by-products of other crops, such as peas. Dairy cattle are raised on irrigated pastures, mostly in the western Snake River valley. They provide milk and other dairy products for the urban centers of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Sheep are raised principally on the Columbia Plateau and in the Basin and Range region, in the southern part of the state. They graze on the higher mountain rangelands in summer and on the valley grasslands in winter. Idaho is a leading wool-producing state and a major lamb-producing state. Hogs and also chickens are raised, mainly in the Snake River valley.

B

Forestry

Although 40 percent of Idaho is forested, only a small fraction of that area is used for lumbering. Northern Idaho is the nation’s leading source of western white pine. Also important is ponderosa pine, much of which is cut in Boise National Forest. Lumber mills are located mainly in the Panhandle. Lewiston, the leading lumber center, is also the site of the state’s largest pulp and paper mill.

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C

Mining

Gold, which once brought thousands of prospectors to Idaho, is now the state’s second most valuable mineral extraction, having fallen behind phosphate rock. Phosphate rock is mined in the southeastern corner of the state, between Montpelier and Fort Hall. Its principal use is in the making of fertilizer. The value of Idaho’s gold production reached an all-time high in the mid-1990s. Idaho is first among the states in the production of antimony, vanadium, and abrasive garnets.

Silver-lead-zinc deposits discovered in the 1880s near the present site of Kellogg continue to be productive. The three minerals are often derived from the same ore deposits. In 1997 Idaho ranked second among the states in the production of silver and third in lead. Mines in the Coeur d’Alene mining district are the deepest in the United States. The Star-Morning mine reached a depth of 2,400 m (7,900 ft) prior to its closure in the mid-1980s.

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