Friday, September 17, 2021
CapitalPress.com 11
Parrella: ‘We contribute and they contribute, and it’s a true partnership’
and hops operations, was
Parma mayor when UI con-
sidered closing the research
and extension center there
during the late-2000s reces-
sion. It stayed open with
support from industry. She
is involved with the indus-
try coalition that is instru-
mental in the expansion
plan.
Continued from Page 1
ag programs. At the time, he
said he expected to stay in
Idaho about fi ve years.
Projects underway
That fi fth anniversary
passed with little mention
as projects such as develop-
ment of the dairy-focused
Center for Agriculture,
Food and the Environment
— CAFE — and the planned
renovation and expansion
of the Parma Research and
Extension Center reached
key milestones.
UI lists more than a
dozen projects and aca-
demic initiatives completed
or substantially advanced
under his leadership.
In addition to CAFE and
the Parma facility, which
will include construction of
the Idaho Center for Plant
and Soil Health, Parrella
has played a key role in:
• The planned $8 million
Agri Beef Meat Science
Center, the home of UI’s
Vandal Brand Meats.
• The $5.5 million
seed-potato
germplasm
building.
• The Organic Agri-
cultural Center opened in
Sandpoint.
• The $3 million Nancy
M. Cummings Research
and Extension Center class-
room and outreach center
near Salmon.
• Acquisition of Rinker
Rock Creek Ranch south-
west of Hailey.
Parrella attributes the
progress on facilities and
college initiatives to work
by industry leaders, legis-
lators, colleagues and other
supporters.
“One person cannot
move it forward,” he said.
“You need a team of peo-
ple. And you build confi -
dence as you go along.”
High marks
Several Idaho agricul-
ture leaders give Parrella
high marks during his ten-
ure and said they’re happy
he plans to stay.
“He has brought excite-
ment to projects like CAFE,
Vandal Brand Meats and
others that have a positive
impact on the dairy indus-
try,” said Idaho Dairy-
men’s Association CEO
Rick Naerebout. “We are
pleased to see him extend
his time with the University
of Idaho and CALS.”
He said Parrella “brings
a lot of excitement, and just
spending time with him,
you realize that. He talks
100 miles a minute with
that excitement.”
Idaho Barley Commis-
sion Administrator Laura
Wilder said Parrella’s lead-
ership “has been highly val-
ued and appreciated.”
She said the dean is a
‘Endless energy’
UI
CALS Dean Michael Parrella has prioritized meeting with constituents in their communities.
CALS INITIATIVES
Y OU A R E
H E R E
A T I M EL IN E
La u n ch c am pa i gn
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Spring ‘19
L a un ch c a mp ai g n
f or I d ah o C en t er fo r
P l a n t a n d S o i l
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Rick
Naerebout
“driven and focused indi-
vidual who has not only
worked tirelessly to ele-
vate CALS through badly
needed facilities improve-
ments and expansion, hir-
ing top-notch faculty and
researchers, and recruit-
ing and retaining Idaho stu-
dents, but also understands
the importance of work-
ing closely with agricul-
ture industry stakeholders
to meet the needs of the cit-
izens of Idaho and the agri-
culture industry here.”
For example, last year
Parrella was instrumental in
fi lling the barley commis-
sion’s endowed research
agronomist post despite hir-
ing freezes and budget cuts,
Wilder said.
He “has made great
things happen for CALS in
spite of the tough budget
situation at the university
and COVID-19 setbacks,”
she said. “He understands
what it takes to get things
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Chumrau
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P l a n t a n d S o i l
He a l th ( P a r ma )
2022
Spring ‘18
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Wilder
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A c q ui r e R u pe r t
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Miller
done, and has been willing
to do whatever was neces-
sary to ensure initiatives
move forward and students
and faculty are supported to
the best degree possible.”
Idaho Wheat Commis-
sion Executive Director
Casey Chumrau said Par-
rella “is very well respected,
and the wheat industry is
appreciative of all of his
eff orts on behalf of Idaho
agriculture. We see him as a
real friend and partner.”
The Idaho Farm Bureau
Federation
interviewed
the dean about extending
his initial fi ve-year work
commitment, and other
developments.
“Farm Bureau was
happy to hear that Michael
Parrella will continue on as
dean of University of Ida-
ho’s College of Agricul-
tural and Life Sciences,”
CEO Zak Miller told the
Capital Press. “It is amaz-
ing how much he has done
C om p l e t e A g r i
B e e f M e a t
Sc i e nc e
C e n te r
2023
UI CALS
in just fi ve years to help set
CALS, and Idaho’s agricul-
tural industry, up for suc-
cess into the future.”
Miller said Parrella “has
asked industry to step up
to the plate and help con-
tribute to several big-ticket
research projects that will
help farmers and ranchers
succeed, and industry has
done just that.”
“CALS and the state’s
agriculture industry are
true partners in these proj-
ects and that came about
largely as a result of Par-
rella actively pursuing that
partnership,” Miller said.
“We look forward to con-
tinue working with the dean
as he continues to propel
the university’s agriculture
college forward.”
Step by step
Parrella said facilities
projects and program devel-
opments typically start with
engaging industry to iden-
tify a problem or need. Fac-
ulty members help. As the
plan and an understand-
ing of its benefi ts develop,
paying for it — with contri-
butions from industry, the
college and ultimately the
Legislature — can become
feasible.
“We contribute and they
contribute, and it’s a true
partnership,” he said. Indus-
try and the college have an
investment in the projects,
“and that seems to have res-
onated here.”
One example is the $7
million Parma upgrade and
expansion, fi rst discussed
three years ago. This year,
industry and the Legislature
each contributed $3 million
to go along with UI’s $1
million. Groundbreaking is
planned for next year.
The $45 million CAFE
project as of mid-August
had about $25 million com-
mitted from stakeholders,
the Legislature and uni-
versity. Elements include a
2,000-cow research dairy
near Rupert, an educa-
tion and public outreach
center near Jerome and a
food-processing pilot plant
in partnership with the Col-
lege of Southern Idaho in
Twin Falls.
Parrella said he won’t
retire until at least “the fi rst
cows are milked at the dairy
in Rupert” and the Parma
project is fi nished, both tar-
geted for 2024.
The Legislature appro-
priated $10 million for
CAFE in 2017, years after
making the funding avail-
able contingent on industry
support.
Naerebout of the Dairy-
men’s Association said
the industry had stopped
believing the project would
advance. But Parrella “rec-
ognized the need for it in
serving the dairy industry
and the benefi ts it would
bring to the university. He
did a great job rejuvenat-
ing it and making what had
been a discussion and con-
cept over a decade into an
actual research center being
built.”
Margie Watson, whose
family owns onion packing
Parrella has “endless
energy,” she said, “and a
razor focus of his vision
for the University of Idaho.
And it’s contagious.”
Watson said the UI ag
dean “is so positive and
has such good ideas, and is
so accepting of other peo-
ple’s ideas in incorporat-
ing all areas.” She said he’s
comfortable with industry
and the Legislature, has an
all-inclusive vision for agri-
culture, strives to advance
the sector and “wants to
help.”
Parrella said CALS
facilities ultimately are
less important than the fac-
ulty working there and the
constituents served. He
mentioned Vandal Brand
Meats, where a meat sci-
ence advisory board will
operate for the benefi t of
the students as well as the
facility.
“It’s not just a building”
but a long-term plan refl ect-
ing what the college wants
to accomplish, he said.
CALS employs 220 fac-
ulty and 276 staff in per-
manently funded positions,
not including temporary or
seasonal help. The CALS
annual budget of about $75
million comes from state
and federal appropriations,
grants, contracts, fund-rais-
ing proceeds, and local
service funds from reve-
nue-generating
activities
such as Vandal Brand Meats
sales and the college’s foun-
dation seed program.
CALS has nine research
and extension centers, six
affi liated centers and county
extension offi ces.
New Jersey native
Parrella grew up in Rah-
way, N.J. He earned a bach-
elor’s degree in animal sci-
ence at Rutgers University,
and a master’s degree and
Ph.D., both in entomology,
at Virginia Tech.
He said his Ph.D. adviser
“was a master at talking to
people. I learned a lot.”
Parrella
started
his
career at UC-Riverside,
doing fl oriculture and nurs-
ery work, and visiting pro-
ducers all over California
for eight years. He took the
same approach to his work
at UC-Davis.
“It was a people busi-
ness,” he said. “That sort of
experience helped prepare
me for this job.”
Mandates: ‘It could very well Mutilations: Why is it farmers often don’t fi nd footprints?
be that for some folks that this Continued from Page 1
won’t be much of a change
study on. The one thing that makes
people think they’re dealing with
from current practices’
malicious intent is that they think
Continued from Page 1
asked. “Are you going to ter-
minate someone who says,
‘I’m not answering private
medical questions?’”
Wood said coaxing rather
than forcing workers to get
vaccinated may be more
eff ective in the current polit-
ical climate. “It’s hard to get
people to work together when
government leaders continue
to lose credibility,” he said.
Tyson Foods mandated
vaccinations in early August.
Since then, the percentage of
vaccinated Tyson workers
has gone to 72% from 45%,
a fi gure touted by the White
House to support Biden’s
plan.
United Farm Workers
organizer Elizabeth Strater
said some farmworkers will
balk at mandatory vaccina-
tions, though they won’t have
much choice.
“A part-time librarian can
quit over this, but not a farm-
worker,” she said. “They
won’t choose to lose their
jobs. People are doing this
work because they need to.”
An emergency rule may
not be in place until after
peak harvest for much of
agriculture. Once a rule is
announced, workers will
need up to six weeks to
become fully vaccinated.
WAFLA executive direc-
tor Dan Fazio said foreign
seasonal workers should
have little problem meeting
the mandate. He estimated
that 95% of the workers with
H-2A visas are vaccinated.
Workers come to the U.S.
knowing they will live with
other farmworkers in group
housing, said Fazio, whose
organization helps farmers
obtain H-2A workers.
“It would be a safety prob-
lem not to be vaccinated,” he
said. “The H-2A workers, by
and large, are all vaccinated.”
Northwest Horticultural
Council senior vice presi-
dent Kate Tynan said the rule
details will matter, including
who is responsible for testing
unvaccinated employees.
Many
agricultural
employers, however, already
have encouraged vaccina-
tions, she said.
“It could very well be that
for some folks that this won’t
be much of a change from
current practices,” she said.
they’ve got a surgical-like or even
laser-like cut. What we’ve found in
predations known to be from coy-
otes scavenging a carcass is they’ll
bite and then pull back, leaving what
appears to be a straight-line cut.
There are also little bite marks, but
you have to look closely for them.
CP: How do you know the cases
you’ve studied have defi nitely
been coyotes?
Nation: The incidents were cap-
tured on video camera, or we used
eyewitness accounts where the
owner saw coyotes mutilating the
animals.
CP: So why is it farmers often
don’t fi nd footprints? Shouldn’t
there be coyote tracks?
Nation: That’s fair game, a fair
comment. My experience is that you
seldom get a person bringing in an
animal in wintertime saying it was
mutilated. And the reason is that
the paw prints are right there in the
snow, so (farmers) know what hap-
pened then. In the summer, paw
prints aren’t as easy to spot.
Now, in hindsight, after work-
ing with a coyote specialist, I also
wonder if some of that seasonality
is also because that coincides with
when adult coyotes are teaching
pups of the year how to hunt and eat,
going for the ends of the body where
the skin is softest.
Deputy Jeremiah Holmes
Offi cials are investigating the death and mutilation of this bull found
in Wheeler County, Ore., in August.
CP: For the sake of your argu-
ment, let’s say coyotes are remov-
ing body parts. That still doesn’t
explain how the animals died in
the fi rst place.
Nation: Well, people often miss
that 24-hour window (to examine
the body after death).
Ranchers also get so concerned
about mutilation they sometimes
won’t get a necropsy done. The cow
might have died of plant poison-
ing, a disease or a subtle metabolic
condition.
My take-home message would
be, no matter what you think hap-
pened to the animal, get it into a
state diagnostic lab or a veterinar-
ian. A dead animal can be seen as
a loss, but it can be turned into an
asset if the test hints at something
like a parasite or nutritional prob-
lem you can deal with in the rest of
your herd.
CP: Your theory isn’t as popu-
lar as theories of foul play. Why
do you think that is?
Nation: Well, for one thing, coy-
otes and mice are not as exciting. If
you can mix perversion and cults
and the unknown, you can have a
wonderful mix of a story there that
people can let their imaginations run
wild on. I’m not saying I have all the
answers, but it’s sure more reason-
able than Martians and ray guns.