The Idaho Board of Land Commissioners Tuesday approved a request by the University of Idaho to purchase land central to its Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment, or CAFE.
In November 2021, 282 acres of Agricultural College endowment land in Caldwell was sold for $23,250,000, as it was no longer used for experimental farming. The funds were placed in the Land Bank fund to be used for the acquisition of real property. With Tuesday’s unanimous vote, the Land Board approved the use of proceeds from the Caldwell property to acquire 638 acres of farmland north of Rupert currently owned by U of I. The university’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences will now use the land from the endowment and the remaining funds to construct a state-of-the-art milking parlor on that property capable of serving a 2,000 head dairy herd.
According to U of I press release, Idaho’s dairy industry, which ranks third in the nation for milk production, strongly supports the CAFE project. The industry has donated more than $8.5 million to the project to date. Their investment will pay dividends by integrating animal and agronomy research resulting in improved strategies for forage production and nutrient management. Research will also help developed waste management systems that create valuable byproducts like fertilizers.
Research at CAFE will also help develop strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from animals, housing areas, waste systems, and in-field applications, advancing the dairy industry’s nationwide net zero initiative.
