University of Idaho Secures $11M For CAFE

The University of Idaho announced Tuesday design of the nation’s largest research dairy can now begin as the school has secured an additional $11 million for the Idaho Center for Agriculture Food and the Environment, better known as CAFE.  Earlier this month, U of I received a $1 million gift from the J.R. Simplot Co. to bring the university commitment for the project to $10 million.  This gave momentum to the release of the $10 million state appropriation to the university to begin the design and construction phase of the project.

“We support this project given the overall focus to improve the sustainability of agriculture across Southern Idaho through a deeper understanding of 'how we farm' and its impacts on our soil and water,” said Scott Simplot, Chairman of the J.R. Simplot Co. Board of Directors.

The project’s footprint will span three counties in southern Idaho, with the research dairy located near Rupert, a discovery complex near Jerome and collaborative food science efforts with other institutions like the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls.  U of I plans to seek Idaho State Board of Education approval in December 2019 to begin design work on the research dairy. The timeline calls for construction to begin in mid-2021, with completion in 2023.

“Projects like CAFE demonstrate the importance of our land-grant mission and the impact it has on the state,” U of I President Scott Green said. “The university is grateful to the Simplot Company for helping us release this funding and to the state of Idaho for its commitment in support of agriculture and our dairy research.”

U of I College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) began work on building a large-scale research dairy in the Magic Valley more than a dozen years ago at the request of the industry, but progress stalled during the Great Recession. CAFE was reinvigorated in 2017 with a plan to acquire the $45 million needed for the project from internal U of I resources, partners in industry and state funds.  U of I and the Idaho Dairymen’s Association partnered in early 2019 to purchase a 540-acre site for the dairy near Rupert from the Whitesides Family, who donated an additional 100 acres to the project. The 640-acre parcel will be home to the research dairy and an agronomic demonstration farm.

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