$2 Million Gift to Ag College is 'Transformational'

Feb 23, 2021

By Sean Ellis

A $2 million gift to University of Idaho’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences will be a big benefit to the state’s farming and ranching community, UI officials say.

CALS Dean Michael Parrella recently announced the gift from Northwest Farm Credit Services.

“It will do an enormous amount of good,” he said. “Any time there is a $2 million gift, it is obviously transformational.”

In addition to the cutting-edge, ag-related research done by CALS researchers, the college also provides direct support to Idaho farmers and ranchers through its Extension offices in 42 of the state’s 44 counties.

UI’s ag college has been an excellent resource for Idaho producers, said Doug Robison, the Idaho president of Northwest Farm Credit Services, which is part of Farm Credit System, the largest provider of credit to American agriculture.

He told Idaho Farm Bureau Federation that NFCS’ board of directors and management team recognize the positive impact the university has on Idaho’s agricultural industry.

“The university’s essential research supports increasing production trends across nearly all of Idaho’s commodities,” Robison said. “The university provides excellent educational programs for producers of all sizes, from beginning farmers to the state’s largest agribusinesses.”

NFCS supports agriculture and rural communities by providing credit and financial services. The customer-owned financial cooperative provides billions of dollars in financing to farmers, ranchers, agribusinesses and rural home owners in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Alaska.

NFCS has a long history of supporting CALS financially, Parrella said, and the group’s contributions have helped boost the college’s research and problem-solving efforts conducted on behalf of the state’s farming and ranching communities.

“The investment in student opportunities helps provide agriculture with the engaged and educated workforce the industry will need to meet future challenges and sustain its role as Idaho’s economic foundation,” he said.

NFCS’ recent $2 million gift includes $925,000 to support the planned Agri Beef Meat Science and Innovation Center on UI’s Moscow campus that will serve as the new home for Vandal Brand Meats and conduct research and training that will benefit the state’s meat industry.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.