Catching Up with CALS — Dec. 15, 2021
Dean's Message — Celebrating, Reflecting
The holiday season is upon us. Students finish their last finals on Friday, and many already have left campus for home to celebrate with family and friends.
For many of us, the winter break serves as a time of renewal and an opportunity to reflect on the passage of 2021. We hope and plan that 2022 will bring good fortune and new opportunities.
Of course we all hope for a new year when COVID-19 (and all its variants) are in the rearview mirror.
We often view the past as prologue. U of I President Scott Green’s recent Friday Letter focused on the university’s recent effort to understand faculty and staff perceptions of our workplace.
Overall, the 2021 Great Colleges to Work For survey provided plenty of encouraging information for the university and for CALS. More than 1,000 employees across U of I responded, and that total included 142 from CALS.
Here’s a highlight that I believe may say the most about our recent successes and our value to the state: When asked if employees understand how their jobs contribute to the U of I mission, 86% across the university agreed, versus 2% who disagreed. In CALS, 87% said yes, and no one said no.
I interpret that as clarity in fulfilling U of I’s land-grant mission to serve the state through teaching, research and extension.
Camaraderie scored high, too. On collaboration, 75% said their departments worked well together. Only 5% said they didn’t in CALS. Even more, 81% said their department in CALS welcomed diversity.
We have some things to work on, too. This has been an issue at U of I for decades and will take years to turn around, but I feel confident that the university under President Green’s leadership is focused on addressing this in 2022 and beyond.
One point that drew similar responses from the larger U of I and CALS communities was the question: “There’s a sense that we’re all on the same team at this institution.”
The U of I share of positive responses registered 37%; the CALS share hit 36%. Negative responses hit 27% for U of I and 25% for CALS. Team building at the U of I needs some work.
In this the season of good cheer leading into a new year, we can make changing this a priority in 2022.
As the semester and one of our most challenging years come to a close, I hope you know that CALS leadership and I value your commitment to the mission and values that unite us.
Thank you and happy holidays.
Michael P. Parrella
Dean
College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
By the Numbers
71 bushels per acre marked Idaho’s average winter wheat production for 2021, nearly 30% less than 2020’s 101 bushel-per-acre average, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. The drop reflected drought conditions across the state during the growing season. Spring wheat averaged 63 bushels per acre statewide, down nearly 31% from 2020’s 91 bushels-per-acre average. Barley production weathered the drought best with a 2021 average of 89 bushels per acre, down 19% from 2020’s average of 110 bushels per acre.
Our Stories — School Offers Ranch Training
A new University of Idaho school for ranchers that begins in January will offer an intensive look at their business from their financial world to finished product.
The U of I Advanced Ranch Management School will include five multi-day sessions with business, forage, meat science, human resources and animal science experts. The topics will cover the practical and more in-depth details of producing cattle and running a ranch.
“We’ve had interest from the Idaho Cattle Association and others in a program like this. They want higher level education and skill building classes to help them operate their businesses better,” said U of I organizer John Hall, Extension beef specialist at the Nancy M. Cummings Research, Extension and Education Center near Salmon.
The school will require those who sign up to invest their attention and effort. “We will have guest speakers, and students will be actively participating in the sessions and discussions. This is not a passive course,” Hall said.
U of I and multiple groups worked together during the last several years to address many of the topics one at a time through individual programs, Hall said. Some were held at the Cummings center, which serves as the U of I College of Agricultural and Life Sciences focus for beef cattle research.
The school will expand on those programs and the locales to give a wider view of the industry with in-depth sessions with ranchers, industry leaders and U of I and other university faculty.
The first session is planned Jan. 20-21 in Twin Falls and will focus on the business of ranch management with Oklahoma State University agribusiness economist Derrell Peel. It will focus on cattle industry conditions, potential new enterprises and the financial basics of the business. University of Idaho Extension professors Hernan Tejeda and Joel Packham will participate.
The second session includes three weekly, evening Zoom sessions in mid to late March and will focus on managing forage resources and the natural resource base. Cummings center researchers Melinda Ellison and Jim Sprinkle will lead the program.
The third session will gather students on the U of I Moscow campus in early May and will focus on meat science from the animal’s harvest through the final product. Meat scientists Phil Bass and Michael Colle will lead the program.
The fourth session will take place on Zoom in mid-July and will focus on human resources management and ranch leadership with UI Extension educator Shannon Williams. The session will cover HR basics from hiring through advocacy for the industry and ranchers’ own operations.
The fifth and final session will take place in Salmon and at the Cummings center Sept. 12-14. It will focus on animal production from nutrition to genetics and reproductive technology. Hall, UI Extension Educator Benton Glaze, Jim Sprinkle and other experts will discuss potential advantages and barriers of new technologies. They also will lead hands-on labs with cattle and range management.
Registration costs $200 per person or $300 for ranch couples. More information about the Advanced Ranch Management School and registration is available from John Hall at jbhall@uidaho.edu or 208-993-1222.
Faces and Places
U of I President Scott Green recently visited UI Extension, Bear Lake County and enjoyed the opportunity to make chicken pot pies with 4-H members.
CALS researchers Patrick Hatzenbuehler, Albert Adjesiwor, Emmanuella Owusu Ansah, Mario de Haro-Martí, J. Reed Findlay, J. Benton Glaze Jr., Ritika Lamichhane, Nora Olsen, Matt Powell, Joseph Sagers, Linda Schott and Olga Walsh joined a team of researchers across U of I and at Idaho State University and the J.R. Simplot Co. to assess the Economic Impacts of Climate Change on Agriculture in Idaho for the “Idaho Climate-Economy Impacts Assessment" issued Tuesday by the U of I-based James A. & Louise McClure Center for Public Policy Research.
Events
- Dec. 15 — "American Heirloom Cultivars in Fermented Cider Production," Heritage Orchard Conference, 10-11:30 a.m. PDT
- Jan. 19-20 —Idaho Potato Conference, Pocatello
- Jan. 20 — U of I Advanced Ranch Management School. Contact John B. Hall by email or at 208-993-1222 for registration and information
Feedback or suggestions? Please pass them along through calsnews@uidaho.edu