Griff: Idaho Sugarbeet Growers Association Expansion, Rebrand Good For Growers, Industry

In January, the Idaho Sugarbeet Growers Association, changed its name and expanded its boundaries. Now known as the Snake River Sugarbeet Growers Association, membership now includes growers in western Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Association Executive Director Brad Griff said growers across the PNW decided now is the right time to unite under one name.

“We can represent ourselves as growers better nationally as we advocate for sugar policy, and it allows us to expand our reach a little bit into Oregon and Washington and really consolidates our messaging in Idaho as well.”

Griff noted one of the big benefits when it comes to advocacy at the state level in Idaho; they’ve expanded into an additional 40% of legislative districts.

The Snake River Sugarbeet Growers Association now represents 700 growers on a combined 180,000 acres, accounting for nearly seven million tons of production. But, why did they select the name Snake River, rather than Pacific Northwest?

“About three million acres of farmland is irrigated with water either from the River directly or from the underground aquifer.  And what’s unique to our area of sugarbeet production, other areas rely on rainfall throughout the year to water their crop.  We’re unique because we irrigate everything, meaning out yields are traditionally higher than other areas.  So we wanted to find something that really distinguished the way we grow beets and also a kind of center of agriculture in our area and a major geographical feature.”

Click Here to learn more about the Snake River Sugarbeet Growers Association.