Idaho at first told the federal government that the state would not comply with a new federal instruction aimed at screening farm hands for immigration violations before referring them to jobs. But that’s now changed, according to the Idaho Labor Department.

The reason: Idaho worried that it would be sued for discrimination. Federal officials have assured the state it will not be held responsible for that, spokesman Bob Fick said told Statesman reporter Bethann Stewart.

The state told the federal Labor Department that it wouldn’t comply unless the federal Labor Department agreed to hold the state harmless, Fick said. The federal department has since notified the state department that it accepted the state’s plan to carry out the requirement and granted the request to protect the state from liability.

“But we haven’t had to process any I-9’s, yet,” Fick said.

All employees, citizens and noncitizens, hired after November 6, 1986 must complete a Form I-9, which verifies a worker's legal right to work in the U.S.

Read the full story in Monday’s print business section.

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And on the topic of farming, read on:

Farm transition — the shift to the next generation of farmers and ranchers — has become a huge issue with the graying of the American farmer.

Some farmers love what they do and don’t want to give it up. Some can’t afford to retire. Still others have sons or daughters who aren’t sure if they are interested in committing to a career that is full of rewards but also uncertainty.

The Associated Press reports that at least 20 states have turned to rural matchmaking to bring together farmers and possible successors. We checked and found that Idaho, where the average farmer is 54 years old, is not one of them.

Read the details about this story, too, in Monday’s print business section.