The Idaho State Board of Education on Thursday approved the purchase of land in Minidoka County that will be used for a University of Idaho research dairy.
The board voted to let UI buy land near Rupert for the Idaho Center for Agriculture Food and the Environment, otherwise known as CAFE. The university and the Idaho Dairymen’s Association will together purchase 540 acres from the Whitesides family for a total of $4.5 million.
The land will house a research dairy, one of several south-central Idaho-based facilities planned as part of the CAFE initiative. The program also plans an outreach and education center in Jerome and a food processing facility for training and research on the College of Southern Idaho campus in Twin Falls.
“One of our key focuses will be to have this dairy represent what this industry looks like in the West,” said Rick Naerebout, chief executive officer for dairy association, in a statement after the vote Thursday. “Being the largest research dairy in the country will help support the industry and put Idaho on the map as a premier location for environmental research.”
The dairy will be located near Meridian Road and 1400 North, north of Rupert. The University of Idaho will pay $2.5 million, while the IDA will contribute $2 million.
UI is currently in negotiations to buy a 5-6 acre parcel of land at Crossroads Point, at the intersection of Interstate 84 and U.S. 93, for the Jerome center, College of Agriculture Dean Michael Parrella told lawmakers in a presentation on Jan. 24.
Project leaders are in ongoing talks with CSI administrators to determine what exactly the food processing facility on campus will look like, Parrella said.
Source: mdjonline.com
