On February 18, 2026, we had the opportunity to speak at the Canyon County Ag Forum hosted by the Nampa Chamber of Commerce. The room was filled with farmers, business leaders, elected officials, and community members—people who care deeply about the future of Canyon County.
The theme that kept coming up was simple: we are not anti-growth. We are pro–smart growth. Growth is happening, and it will continue. The real question is whether we will guide it intentionally—or allow it to happen in ways that create long-term conflict, rising costs, and irreversible farmland loss.
Right now, rezonings, annexations, and development approvals are happening across the county. Those decisions are not small or temporary. They shape where roads go, where schools must expand, how emergency services respond, and whether working farmland remains viable.
At Growing Together, our work is ongoing—not tied to one forum or one hearing. We track land-use applications in Canyon County, watch development trends, and help community members understand how decisions are made. We focus on law, data, and long-term outcomes.
Over the next four posts, we’ll break down the most important topics that surfaced at the Ag Forum—why zoning matters, why agriculture remains a cornerstone of our economy, what happens when farmland becomes fragmented, and how tools like boundaries and infill can help us grow responsibly.
Growth is coming. We can either shape it with intention—or pay for it later with congestion, higher taxes, service strain, and the loss of the farmland we can’t replace.
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