Ag research center lifeline pleases economic development, wine industry leaders 

News that the University of Idaho Parma Research & Extension Center will live on thanks to financial support from J.R. Simplot Co. was welcomed by local economic development and wine-industry leaders. The University of Idaho Board of Regents on Dec. 10, during a meeting of the Idaho State Board of Education in Twin Falls, voted unanimously to accept Simplot’s $1.5 million, multi-year agreement grant proposal to continue the Parma operation, according to a release. The regents also heard a report that operations will continue through June 30 at research and extension centers at Sandpoint and Tetonia, thanks to outside contributions from other organizations. The three agricultural research centers were targeted for major cuts due to state budget shortfalls.

Caldwell / Canyon Economic Development Council Executive Director Steve Fultz said the organization is excited about Simplot’s financial support of the Parma field operation “and what that means to the future agribusiness economy of Canyon County and beyond.” The facility has contributed to the area economy significantly, and U of I’s planned partnership with Simplot “does keep research here locally as we look at a growing wine industry and table grape industry, and positions us well for other opportunities we may not have even considered at this point in the agribusiness arena.”

Keeping the center open benefits the wine and grape industry, said Moya Shatz, executive director of the Caldwell-based Idaho Grape Growers and Wine Producers Commission. The university’s earlier plan to close the Parma field operation included moving, to a university-owned facility in Caldwell, scientists who work on projects that benefit the wine and grape industry. The scientists would have had to relocate projects, and do more driving between the Caldwell office and those field sites, she said.

The commission plans to “continue to support the researchers as much as possible,” she said.

The Idaho Grape Growers and Wine Producers Commission did not contribute money toward keeping the Parma center open but did put in time studying the issue, Shatz said. The commission’s annual budget, now about $250,000, comes from state liquor taxes and an industry assessment.

As the Simplot-UI agreement unfolds over five years, the state’s financial situation could improve and growth likely will occur in the economy and in the wine and grape industry, she said. Idaho has 40 wineries now compared to 11 in 2002.

Fultz said the Parma Research and Extension Center is a tool for economic development. “As we meet with other agribusiness industries, that continues to be something that we can use as an incentive for businesses to be here … to have the access to that research center.” He thanked leaders with Simplot, U of I, Parma, the Coalition for Agriculture’s Future, and various commodity commissions.

Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter has said the state needs to look at putting together public-private partnerships that are mutually beneficial, Otter spokesman Jon Hanian said in an interview.

“They are important at any time, but especially now when we are dealing with the kind of financial constraints we are facing,” Hanian said.

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