09/17/07 What goes on the cover page?

Celia Gould has spent most of this year working at her new job as director of the Idaho State Department of Agriculture. One of the prerogatives as director is to choose the cover for the annual Idaho Agricultural Statistics report. A beef producer from Buhl Gould just assumed the cover would have some livestock included but with every passing day on the job she appreciates the diversity of Idaho agriculture. GOULD "You know when you think about 144 crops and products that bring livelihoods to the people of the state of Idaho it's somewhat over whelming. So I thought somehow we had to feature some of those smaller specialty crops and niche crops that are becoming ever more important to our ag economy." It's not all potatoes, wheat, barley, beets, dairy and cattle. Idaho is also peas and plums, peaches and onions, hops, mint, lentils, trout, sheep and lambs, honey, seed, hay, cherries, beans, just to name 21 Idaho products. The folks at Ag Statistics Service in Boise just sent the report to the printer so it won't be long before it's available and we'll see some of Idaho's crop diversity displayed on the cover. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott