BURLEY, Idaho — Idaho Gov. Brad Little and Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke traveled to Burley on Friday to celebrate the region's farming, ranching, and dairy industries at the Mini-Cassia Chamber of Commerce's Salute to Agriculture ceremony.
Little and Bedke joined local and state officials at the event, which highlights the agricultural roots of the Mini-Cassia region. The governor used the occasion to reaffirm his commitment to Idaho's farming industry and to promote alternative post-secondary education pathways for high school students.
WATCH: Idaho officials honor Mini-Cassia agriculture at annual ceremony
"Agriculture is what started this state, it's what's growing the state, and it's going to continue to grow," Little said.
Little, who recently announced plans to run for re-election, highlighted the Idaho LAUNCH program and its potential impact on high school seniors across the state.
"It's just recently [that] we've really put legs under it with our LAUNCH grants, to where every single high school senior can have up to $8,000 available for starting higher education— but really importantly, [for] career and technical," Little said.
When asked about the biggest threat to agriculture in Idaho, Little pointed to the pressures that come with the state's own productivity.
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"Right now, its prices and growth. We're victims of our own success. We produce more tonnage of sugar beets per acre, we produce more tons of potatoes per acre, we produce more milk per cow and so, as we're victims of that success, we have to do a lot of things to open export markets to come up with new and more efficient ways," Little said.
Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke also addressed the crowd, speaking to the role agriculture plays in holding Idaho communities together.
"Most of our blessings in this part of the state come from the agriculture. It's the glue that keeps our communities together over decades and just kind of makes this a great place to live," Bedke said.
For the Mini-Cassia Chamber of Commerce, having the state's top officials attend the event — now in its third year — carries significant meaning.
"It just makes us feel great! They appreciate agriculture, and I've always appreciated that with the governor and lieutenant governor, they obviously appreciate it enough to come to Burley and give us a plug," Brice Beck of the Mini-Cassia Chamber of Commerce said.
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