The Idaho Board of Land Commissioners voted Tuesday to purchase farmland in south-central Idaho that will be the site of the country’s largest research dairy.
The Idaho Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment, known as the CAFE project, will include a 2,000-cow dairy and farm fields in Minidoka County, an outreach center in Jerome and a food-processing training program at the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls.
Idaho is the number three milk-producing state in the country after California and Wisconsin.
The land board decided Tuesday to acquire the 640 acres in Rupert valued at $6 million. The University of Idaho and the Idaho Dairymen’s Association each currently own about half of the land, and the Dairymen’s Association will donate its portion as part of the deal.
The funds for this investment come from a $23 million sale of agricultural college endowment land in Caldwell last year, and the remaining money in that pool will be invested into the primary infrastructure on the CAFE site – the robotic milking parlor.
The land and facility will be part of the state endowment portfolio and the University of Idaho will run the center.
“This development of CAFE will yield good returns for students today and well into the future,” Governor Brad Little said in a press release. “The important research will help the dairy producers, manufacturers, and University of Idaho agricultural students and future veterinarians who will assist with the vast spectrum of research.”
University officials have said the research taking place at the Rupert facility will focus on how the dairy industry can lower its greenhouse gas emissions. The industry has set a goal of becoming 'net zero' by 2050.
“This new center will lead our state in addressing water issues and environmental quality challenges while supporting the continued growth of dairy,” Scott Green, the President of the University of Idaho, told the board Tuesday.
Studies will likely involve ways to better manage waste from cows and to create products from it like fertilizer.
The investment from the land board will bring the project’s total funds to nearly $50 million, which includes donations from industry and allocations from the state. The first construction phase should be complete in 2024.
Find reporter Rachel Cohen on Twitter @racheld_cohen
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