University of Idaho dean outlines college priorities, seeks viticulture specialist and CAFE operating funds

Michael Perella, dean of the University of Idaho College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, told the House Agricultural Affairs Committee that he has announced his retirement effective in June and reviewed the college’s priorities, staffing and funding requests.

Perella described the college’s land‑grant mission and recent investments in facilities and personnel. He told the committee the college has hired “about 75 new faculty” during his nine‑year deanship and that more than half of the roughly 220 faculty hold off‑campus appointments, which places extension personnel in communities across Idaho.

Perella asked the committee to consider two enhancement requests in the college’s budget. The first is funding for a viticulture and small‑fruits research and extension specialist based at the Parma Research and Extension Center to support a growing wine‑grape industry and provide statewide technical assistance. Perella said the role would conduct applied research and extension with statewide responsibility while addressing site‑specific viticulture questions in Idaho’s six wine‑growing regions and the three recognized American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) in the state.

The second request is operating/building‑maintenance funds for the Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (CAFE). Perella said the college is asking the state for roughly 50% of the operating dollars for phase 1 construction and cited a $250,000 figure derived from a State Board of Education formula; CAFE is planned to be a large dairy‑centric research and teaching facility (a 2,000‑cow dairy when completed) intended to link livestock, cropping systems and veterinary training. Perella said the college expects portions of CAFE to be operational about a year after the presentation.

Perella emphasized the college’s extension and youth programs, including Idaho 4‑H, which he said serves about 75,000 youth and about 2,000 volunteers. He also described the university’s research and extension centers across the state and noted accomplishments in breeding programs, including varieties used by major processors.

Perella flagged long‑term risks to Idaho agriculture: federal funding for USDA and land‑grant research has been largely flat, and he said the college is concerned about the loss of productive farmland. In the transcript he stated, regarding farmland loss between 2017 and 2022, “we've lost a hundred and 40 44000 acres,” a figure that is unclear in the record and therefore is noted here as stated in the transcript but not assigned a precise numeric value in this article.

Committee members thanked Perella for his service and asked questions about Parma, opportunities for Idaho agriculture, and the role of ag education programs that feed into the college’s teacher and workforce pipelines. Perella credited community stakeholders and faculty partnerships for recent facility and program investments. He stood for committee questions following his presentation.