Poll shows strong urban support for Idaho agriculture

A Boise State University poll shows that residents in Idaho’s largest urban area consider agriculture to be the Treasure Valley’s most important economic sector.  The poll results come as somewhat of a welcome surprise considering the Treasure Valley area of southwestern Idaho is dominated by the Boise area, where the majority of people are assumed by many farmers to not have a strong understanding or appreciation of agriculture.  But the poll shows otherwise.  When asked which sector is most important to the Treasure Valley economy, 24.8 percent said agriculture, which ranked first, ahead of small business (18 percent) and hi-tech (17.2 percent).  “I was a little bit surprised by the results,” said Corey Cook, dean of BSU’s School of Public Policy, which conducted 1,000 phone interviews with Treasure Valley residents on a variety of subjects. “I think most of us would have thought tech would have come in first.”