The Courier
NEWS
Time to Enjoy the Best Days of Summer
The county fair and rodeo season swings into full action this week with the Elmore County Fair & Rodeo in Glenns Ferry. 4-H and FFA livestock shows started on Monday, but tonight is Family Night featuring Elmore County's Got Talent at 7:00 p.m. Thursday night is the Jr. Bull Riding and Jr. Barrel Races. WCRA Rodeo will be held July 16th & 17th (Friday & Saturday) starting at 8 p.m. each evening followed by country singer Briana Renea at 9 p.m. Over in Shoshone, the Lincoln County Fair & Rodeo will begin next Saturday, July 24th, with the Ardis Swan Jr. Rodeo at 10 a.m. 4-H and FFA animal shows will begin on Monday, July 26th, with the horse show and will continue throughout the week. The Market Animal sale will be held on Saturday, July 31st, at 11:00 a.m. The Lincoln County Fair Parade will roll through Shoshone on Thursday, July 29th, at 6 p.m. followed by the first night of ICA Rodeo at 8 p.m. On Saturday, July 31st, the United Truck & Tractor Pull will entertain fair goers at 4 p.m. and on Sunday at 5 p.m. the old guys will strut their stuff in the Antique Tractor Pull. The Camas County Fair will overlap with the 4-H Demonstration Speech contest this coming Tuesday night, July 20th, at the LDS Church. The horse show will be held on Saturday, July 24th, at the C-Me Later Arena. "Party Till The Cows Come Home" officially begins July 29th and wraps up on Sunday, August 1st, with the Fair Parade on Saturday at noon followed by the Market Animal Livestock sale at 2:00 p.m.
Governor's Office Aids Area Water Users
As the State of Idaho faces the worst drought in years, a group of water users in Blaine County – with the aid of the Governor's office, House Speaker Scott Bedke, the Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR) and others – came together to reach a historic settlement this week, ensuring the continued growth of crops in the area. Governor Brad Little commended the ground water and surface water users in Blaine County for reaching a settlement to avoid the curtailment of about 140 ground water users on approximately 23,000 acres of land in the Bellevue Triangle area, while also ensuring that senior water users on Silver Creek and the Little Wood River are mitigated for their injury from ground water pumping in this extreme drought year. "This settlement is an important first step and sets the stage for a long-term solution in the Wood River area. I appreciate the efforts by the surface and ground water to5..... come to a seeusers page resolution that protects senior water rights while allowing some groundwater pumpers the ability continued on page 6... to provide valuable crops," Governor Little said. "I would also...
News from the Heart of Idaho Camas • Lincoln • Gooding
July 14, 2021
Vol 45 Num 28
Idaho Department of Lands Seeks Public Input On New Grazing Rate Proposal
Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) is looking for public input on a proposal that would update the grazing rate methodology for the first time since1993. Last October, the Idaho State Board of Land Commissioners (Land Board) unanimously directed IDL to conduct a comprehensive review of the model used to set fees for grazing on more than 1.7 million acres of endowment land across Idaho. As a result of that review, IDL will recommend a new approach for determining the market rate for grazing on endowment land. The recommendation will be brought to the Land Board as an informational item at its July 20, 202, meeting. The board is not anticipated to act on IDL’s recommendation until September. The new grazing rate proposal, along with background information, research and a public comment form are available on a new IDL webpage at https://www.idl.idaho.gov/leasing/ grazing-farming-conservation-program/grazing-rate-review/. Public comments and suggestions to improve the proposed new model will be accepted until 5 p.m. (MT) on Friday, September 3, 2021. The proposed model nets non-fee grazing costs against the USDA National Agricultural Statistic Services (NASS) published private Animal Unit Month (AUM) grazing rate for Idaho, then expresses the endowment grazing lease rate as a percentage of that NASS private lease rate. For comparison, the current year endowment grazing fee is $7.07 per AUM, or 38% of the NASS private rate for Idaho. Under the proposed new model, the rate for 2022 may increase to $10.73 per AUM, which is 58% of the published NASS private rate. Formula complexity and volatility has been an issue for decades when determining the market rate for grazing on endowment lands. The new approach would rely on transparent, defensible published data and would incorporating periodic reviews to ensure the endowment grazing rate tracks with market over time. If approved, the change would likely generate an additional $900,000 in revenue each year for Idaho’s endowment beneficiaries, which is primarily public schools.