2-17 IAN S. Idaho

Southern Idaho attracted a record-setting $800 million in food company investments and 5,000 jobs last year.  America's most diverse food basket, Southern Idaho, has secured a record-setting seven projects in 10 months, including new investments from food giants Chobani, Monsanto, Clif Bar and Frulact Group as well as expansions of Glanbia Foods, McCain Foods and Calva/Brewster. These projects are expected to generate 5,000 new jobs with a combined investment of over $773 million, according to the Southern Idaho Economic Development Organization. As America's most diverse food basket, the Southern Idaho region boasts a strong agricultural base of: row crops, sugar beets, potatoes, barley, winter/summer wheat, oats, seed production, pork processing, cattle/calves, dairy production/processing, aquaculture, food science/R&D, and lamb, mink and honey production. Jan Rogers, executive director of the Southern Idaho Economic Development Organization "For our region of 200,000 people to open or announce seven new projects in a 10-month timeframe is pretty phenomenal. We've shattered all previous business records. Southern Idaho, blessed with agricultural diversity, is now becoming the country's center for food production, food processing and food science."