Breakfast Series final discussion of 2025 comes to an end with look outside of Idaho

For many Idaho businesses, the state’s borders are expanding as rapidly as its population.

And with 95% of the world’s population estimated to be located outside of the U.S., the Gem State is well-positioned to produce and ship an array of in-demand commodities to destinations worldwide.

“Domestically, we have a pretty mature market. But you have emerging middle classes and rising incomes around the world, and those are important places to look for new sales and for growth,” said Laura Johnson, bureau chief of the state’s Department of Agriculture Market Development Division.

Johnson discussed her agency’s role promoting, connecting and educating Idaho producers to new markets during the recent Business Beyond Borders panel discussion hosted by Idaho Business Review Oct. 9 at The Grove Hotel. The session was the fifth and final Breakfast Series discussion for 2025.

If Johnson has learned one thing during her three-plus decades serving the agency, it’s that Idaho, despite its small but still rapidly growing population, produces more agricultural products, such as wheat and potatoes, than the average consumer can use daily.

“If we had to keep all of this in Idaho, if all of our wheat was made into bread, and not pastries and other products, every man, woman and child in Idaho would have to eat 144 slices of bread every single day,” she said. “And about 55 potatoes. We must look beyond our borders.”

Statistics shared by Johnson indicate Idaho exports 60% of the entire nation’s wheat crop outside the U.S., while also maintaining its position as the No. 1 barley producer in the country.

Plus, she added that all Idahoans would be chomping down two and a half pounds of cheese each day, courtesy of all the milk Idaho’s dairies help produce and that is used to make the popular rich-in-protein food.
“All of these products are exported somewhere around the world,” Johnson said. “And for U.S. agriculture as a whole, 20% of all agriculture products wind up being exported.”

Appearing via Zoom from Coeur d’Alene, was panelist Joni Kindwall-Moore, the founder and CEO of The Ryzosphere and Snacktivist, Inc. A scientist and registered nurse, Moore has spent more than 25 years in both health care and food system innovation, while serving on various committees on behalf of the USDA.

She fully supported Johnson’s assessment of the growing need for Idaho to expand its production borders. “We have to export so much of what we produce due to the state’s small population. Part of any productive ag system is that strategy of figuring out what is used nationally and globally.”

One Idaho product gaining international traction is wine.

Representing the Idaho Wine Commission, Executive Director Moya Dolsby emphasized Idaho’s burgeoning wineries are producing more wine that Idahoans can consume within state borders.
“We definitely have more product than we can consume,” Dolsby said. “Even though Idahoans can and do drink a lot of wine, we still need to extend our reach.”

In her line of work, the use of trade specialists, she said, is key in getting wine to places around the globe, as well as getting people stateside and internationally to come to Idaho to experience the state wine market.
“We want to bring more people to visit Idaho and see what we have to offer. And I believe that internationally we can still sell in larger quantities.”

As director of international sales for Copeland, a global leader in sustainable heating, cooling and refrigeration solutions for commercial, industrial, cold chain and residential industries, panelist Gerd Uitdewilligen has a lengthy history doing business beyond traditional state borders.

Born just a “few hundred meters” from the Simplot factory located in his hometown in the Netherlands, Uitdewilligen likes to jokingly say he “imported himself” to the U.S.

With nearly two decades of experience in the produce technology industry, he knows well the idea of going international with a perishable product is one thing and moving it safely and efficiently is a whole different story.
“We work globally with many importers and exporters with food that is temperature sensitive,” he said. “And technology made here in Idaho is used to keep food all over the world safe.”

A member of the Idaho District Export Council

, which helps Idaho companies compete within the international marketplace, he also works closely with the Idaho Department of Commerce trade specialists, and the Idaho Governor’s Trade Missions to help promote Idaho businesses and products on the world stage.

“Idaho governors, current and past, are very pro-trade,” Uitdewilligen said. “We take a group of applicable companies through a process and work to promote products, find distribution partners or key accounts like a supermarket or importers.”

A fairly well-kept secret, but maybe not so much to those who brew beer, is Idaho ranks as one of the nation’s leading states for producing key ingredients such as malt and barley used in the brewing process. These valuable ingredients help bring many buyers to Idaho.

Last month, two delegations brought here by the Idaho Hop Growers Commission recruited and identified potential buyers from south of the U.S. border who got to experience firsthand hops production.

“Mexico is our largest export market for Idaho malt, and in eastern Idaho we have the largest malt production in the world,” Johnson said. “And we are the No. 1 barley producer in the country.”

The notion of breaking open borders by hosting and recruiting buyers from all over the world is a regular occurrence, even if it’s a product that can make you tear up, such as onions. Again, Idaho, and the region of the state that extends into eastern Oregon, sits atop of the charts for this widely popular homegrown commodity.

“One delegation also from Mexico has already produced an order for a container of onions and we’re just now getting into that season,” she said. “So, bringing these buyers in is an important strategy.”
Another important strategy known as circularity, or maintaining productivity while designing out waste, also plays a prominent role in moving Idaho products beyond its borders while bringing others into the state’s business fold.

“We are always working with farmers who are actively strategizing on how to reduce waste,” Moore said. “We then look to quantify that to savings and tell the economic story that supports this strategy of circularity.”
One such story involves the repurposing of hides from cattle raised in the Northwest. With no processing plant in the region, most hides wind up disposed into a landfill.

This is where the idea of circularity, Moore said, comes into play. “A circularity strategy helps us reduce that waste and create a value stream opportunity that drives economic catalyzation for the system and creates a product we are proud of.”

Johson provided added context, highlighting how two of Idaho’s largest beef producers, CS Beef Packers in Kuna and True West Beef in Jerome, now treat hides before exporting them to Asia.

“It shows that every piece of the animal and carcass is important, not just for avoiding waste, but for adding value to the overall animal,” she said.

Through his personal and professional experiences, Uitdewilligen emphasized the notion for Idaho businesses to be “smart, work hard and utilize” American resources globally.

“We are one of many great local success stories in how we started in Idaho and now are everywhere around the world,” he said. “Doing so helped increase our sales and mitigate our risks. Sales overseas during the 2008 financial crisis helped us with our cashflow and growth.”

With 30 years coordinating international sales missions and promoting Idaho Governor’s Trade Missions, Johnson knows Idaho is strategically positioned well for finding success with its current and future marketing opportunities on the global stage.

“For Idaho, the markets really are in Asia, as well as Canada and Mexico predominantly,” she said. “But collectively, these are the areas we have the greatest opportunities for many different products.”

Moore simply sees it as “proactive storytelling” to help create visibility for producers, processors and purchasers who are involved in the chain domestically and internationally.

“We have a great lifestyle story in our state in what is a competitive global environment,” she said. “We’re seen as clean, and pristine and very connected with nature. This resonates with people stuck in more urban areas around the world. It’s a little touch of what we can take for granted every day.”

“People often ask why we are in Idaho and I just tell them to come visit us and see for yourself,” Uitdewilligen said. “We can’t forget that Idaho is not only a great place in which to do business with people, but great because of the people here who make it great. And we should be proud of it.”