Idaho Agriculture seeks investigator pay structure, funds for quagga mussel response in FY2026 budget

At a Friday morning meeting of the Joint Finance Appropriations Committee, Frances Lippett, budget and policy analyst for the Legislative Services Office, reviewed the Idaho Department of Agriculture’s budget and highlighted requests tied to invasive‑species response and personnel retention.

The department asks JFAC to approve a range of items in its fiscal year 2026 request, including continued funding for quagga mussel response, a proposed pay structure for agricultural investigators and one‑time replacement items such as vehicles and IT hardware. The measures aim to sustain sampling and watercraft inspection stations and to reduce investigator turnover that the department says is affecting service delivery.

Lippett said the department’s statutory responsibilities are set out in several titles of Idaho Code and that the agency is organized into eight budgeted programs, with plant industries the largest at 75 full‑time equivalents and animal industries the second largest at 62 FTEs. She said the department’s dedicated funds are the most numerous of any state agency and noted two funds tied to recent operations: the invasive species fund and the pest control fund.

Lippett summarized recent Legislature actions that provided both a one‑time and…