Kyle Parreira Technical Apprentice Fresno, California Conestoga-Rovers & Associates

What education are you bringing with you to this position?
After graduating from Tulare Union High School, I began attending Fresno State.I am now beginning my final year at Fresno State, majoring in civil engineering, with an emphasis in water resource management and a minor in Mathematics.I also recently passed my fundamentals exam in civil engineering, and am now certified as an engineer-in-training in the state of California.

Please describe your agricultural background.
I grew up on our family farm, Parreira Farms, in Pixley, California.My brothers and I grew up working for our father and grandfather on the farm.We only worked in farming until 11 years ago when my immediate family joined the dairy business.Today, my father manages the farming of our 800 acres, consisting of wheat, oats, corn and alfalfa.

My eldest brother, John, is responsible for our 2000-head Holstein dairy facility (Golden State Dairy). My brother Wade and I help aside from our other jobs, and our mother, Arlene, takes care of all the bookkeeping, aside from teaching.

What territory will you cover?
Conestoga-Rovers & Associates is a worldwide, corporate engineering and consulting firm.However, my branch mostly covers central California, particularly Tulare, Kings, and Fresno Counties, and I hope to help our branch expand much more.

What are your new responsibilities?
My new responsibilities include creating nutrient management plans, waste management plans, annual reporting and various other processes to keep producers in compliance with new and existing regulations.I will also sample many aspects of an agriculturalist’s operation, such as plant tissue, ground and waste water, soil, etc., to help manage the quality of their production.

What previous positions have you held?
While attending Fresno State, I have worked at various Smart and Final stores in the Central Valley, learning how to give great customer service and exceed expectations of clients.Prior to my college career, I worked for my father and brother on our dairy farm, assisting in the day-to-day operations, both farming and on the dairy.

Who has made the biggest impact on your career?
That would be my father, Randy Parreira. I have never met such a hard-working individual.He has been a great role model, always demonstrating what it means to work with pride and diligence.

He was also the one to inspire me into my career path. Over the past 10 years or so, I have witnessed my father’s frustration with acquiring irrigation water, as well as keeping up with new Air and Water Board regulations.It is this experience that has inspired me to emphasize in water management and become an engineering consultant, hoping to make life a little easier for agriculturalists.

How will you be of most help to producers in your region or area of expertise?
For producers, I will manage the various processes to keep them in compliance with Air and Water Board regulations. Having grown up in agriculture, I know that producers have enough to worry about as it is, so I hope to do my job well enough to relieve them of the stress that comes with this side of the operation.

Why did you choose this company?
I’m going to school for engineering because I enjoy the new challenges of it, but my passion is still in agriculture. I’d heard that the Fresno CRA branch was part of the agricultural division, and works with many producers in Tulare County, which is where I’m from. With one year left at Fresno State and good availability, I decided to apply for an internship position with them.

They didn’t have any open positions, but I felt that with my agricultural background, I could be a great asset to this division; evidently, after my interview, they felt the same.

What goals would you like to accomplish while in this position?
My job is to help agriculturalists stay in compliance with regulations, which resultantly keeps them from being fined. With high feed prices and low milk prices, I understand how frugal producers need to be during this time, and I hope to do my job as efficiently as possible to save them as much money as I can.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I hope to have passed my professionals exam and earn my California State Professional Engineering License. Having my stamp will then allow me to do – not only consulting work for producers, but – design work for the construction of new facilities, new additions, updates, etc., for any agriculturalists in the state of California. PD