University of Idaho Holds Groundbreaking Of Idaho CAFE

The University of Idaho held a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday for the dairy facility at the Idaho Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment, better known as Idaho CAFE.  When complete, the $45 million project will be the largest research dairy in the nation, housing over 2,000 cows.  College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Dean Michael Parrella said the dairy part of CAFE is the exciting first step of the plans the University of Idaho has for the 640-acres in the Rupert area.

“The plan there is to develop a long-term research program on agricultural sustainability and regenerative agriculture, in the Magic Valley, that looks at the crop rotations that occur there.  So, there’s wheat and sugar beets and there’s potatoes and there’s beans and there’s alfalfa and there’s corn and the list goes on and on basically. And while they’re connected to the dairy industry through nutrient management, the idea of understanding rotation, the use of water, healthy soil, all of that kind of stands by itself.”

Parrella added studies conducted at Idaho CAFE will help the nation’s dairymen meet the challenge of maintaining sustainable operations as resource pressures mount for decades to come.

Visit the University of Idaho's Website to learn more about Idaho CAFE.

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