BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The University of Idaho’s plan to build the nation’s largest research and experimental dairy farm hit a big hurdle Tuesday.
Idaho Governor Brad Little and two other statewide elected officials on the Idaho Land Board have approved the university’s plan to use $23 million to buy regarding 640 acres of farmland in south-central Idaho, the heart of the state’s dairy industry.
That would be the primary focus of the school’s proposed center for agriculture, food and the environment, or CAFE.
Idaho’s dairy industry is the third largest dairy producer in the country, behind California and Wisconsin. But the industry in Idaho — and in general — faces a series of challenges with greenhouse gas emissions from animals, land and water pollution, and dairies’ waste systems that can have thousands of cows that produce tons of manure.
University of Idaho President Scott Green, who called the vote a big win for the state, the university and the dairy industry, said the school was unable to conduct the large-scale research that industry needed to find solutions to these and other problems. complex issues.
“The research we’re doing there is going to help us improve water quality in the state,” Green said following the vote. “This will help us use waste from the dairy industry in a way that benefits the environment and agriculture.”
Green said students will receive the education needed to work at the cutting edge of agribusiness and dairy science. He also said CAFE opens doors for the school to receive millions of dollars in research grants, which might lead to new ideas and innovation.
If CAFE succeeds as planned, the operation would include an experimental farm and a 2,000-cow research dairy in Minidoka County. Classrooms, laboratories, and faculty offices would be built in Jerome County near the intersection of Interstate 84 and U.S. Route 93. A pilot food processing plant with a training center and workforce education center would be located on the College of Southern Idaho campus in Twin Falls County.
The state’s dairy industry has backed the plan, donating more than $8.5 million so far, according to state officials.
Specifically, the board voted on Tuesday to use $23 million from the 2021 sale of 282 acres of endowment land in Caldwell to benefit the University of Washington’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. ‘Idaho to purchase approximately 640 acres of farmland in Minidoka County north of Rupert owned by the university – turning that into endowment land. The school will now use this land and money to build the research dairy.
Endowment land is land that Idaho received at statehood that the Land Board manages to produce the maximum long-term return for the recipients, primarily public education.
Land Board members had other options for the money. He might have transferred the $23 million to a fund that would generate money through investments. He might also have kept the money for potential investments in forest land, the most reliable revenue generator for state land.
The choice of the university option was unique in that it recognized research as an asset.
“If it was more affordable research, private industry would do it,” Little said following the meeting. “These are the kinds of things the government needs to do, these long-term, low-return (investments). If we come up with research that creates a more sustainable, cleaner way to have a dairy industry in Idaho, it’s a win-win for everyone.
Immediately following the vote, applause erupted in the Statehouse meeting room, an unusual occurrence at a Land Board meeting that typically deals with frozen financial management decisions involving the 3,900 square miles (10,100 square kilometres) of state endowment land.
Keith Ridler, Associated Press
