Idaho Bean Commission asks committee to print assessment increase — first since 1992

Andy Wolf Wybie, executive director of the Idaho Bean Commission, told the Senate Agriculture Committee that the commission is requesting an increase in its commodity check‑off assessment, the first requested change since 1992.

“We as the Idaho Bean Commission have not requested an assessment increase since 1992,” Wybie said. She described inflationary pressures and new research needs — particularly in entomology and seed‑testing for diseases affecting export markets — that the commission says have reduced the purchasing power of its existing funds.

Wybie described the commission as self‑funded by a check‑off assessment collected when beans enter the first channel of trade and said the commission receives no state general‑fund money. “Currently, our assessment sits at 12¢ per hundred weight with it being split 8¢ from the grower and 4¢ from the bean dealer warehouse. The board voted unanimously to increase that assessment 4¢ to make them both 8¢,” Wybie told the committee. She said the commission requests authority to raise the assessment to 16¢ now, with authorization to raise to 24¢ later if needed.

Sen. Blaylock deferred to Wybie to present details. After Wybie’s presentation, a motion to send RS 31817 to print was made and seconded. The committee voted in favor and the request was ordered printed.

Wybie said recent trade missions and newly funded entomology work at the University of Idaho’s Parma Research and Extension Center are priorities for the commission, and she described seed cleanliness and disease‑free seed as Idaho strengths for marketing. She also said the commission has spent recent years informing industry members about the planned request.

The committee did not adopt amendments at the hearing. The printed request will allow the sponsor to introduce the language as a bill usable for subsequent committee consideration and floor action.