PARMA, Idaho — Feb. 16, 2024 An artist’s rendering of new building in Parma.
WHAT: University of Idaho will celebrate the grand opening of the 9,600-square-foot Idaho Center for Plant and Soil Health at the Parma Research and Extension Center on Tuesday, Feb. 20.
The state-of-the-art building replaces dilapidated facilities, some of which were more than a half a century old, and contains laboratory space for research in nematology, pomology, plant pathology, microbiology and hops quality.
Construction of the $12.1 million facility was made possible thanks to $3 million in donations from agricultural stakeholders, in addition to investment from the university and the state of Idaho.
The ceremony will include a ribbon cutting, a program celebrating the generous partners who made the accomplishment possible, speakers including Gov. Brad Little and self-guided tours of the laboratory.
WHEN:3:30-5:30 p.m. MST Tuesday, Feb. 20
WHERE: University of Idaho Parma Research and Extension Center, 29603 U of I Lane, Parma, Idaho
ORDER OF SPEAKERS:
Michael P. Parrella, dean and special assistant to the president for agricultural initiatives, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
Jon and Margie Watson, J.C. Watson Company
Chandra Zenner Ford, center executive officer for U of I Boise and Southwest Idaho
Saad Hafez, a professor of entomology and an Extension specialist at the U of I’s Parma Research and Extension Center, stands outside of the new Idaho Center for Plant and Soil Health. Saad Hafez leads a tour of the new Idaho Center for Plant and Soil Health
