Land Purchase Approved for Magic Valley Research Dairy
TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KLIX)-The University of Idaho can move forward with the purchase of land that will serve as the center for a research dairy in the Magic Valley. The Idaho Board of Land Commissioners (Land Board) made up of the governor and other state elected officials, gave the University of Idaho (UI) the go-ahead to purchase land near Rupert for the Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (CAFE). The approval will allow UI to purchase 638 million acres for the experimental and research dairy which will include funding for a state-of-the-art milking barn and hold up to 2,000 dairy cows. “Agriculture remains Idaho’s number-one industry with livestock production accounting for more than 60% of the state’s agricultural cash receipts,” said U of I President C. Scott Green in a prepared statement. “This facility will serve our students well, preparing them to work on the cutting edge of agribusiness and dairy sciences.” President Green added that the CAFE will be eligible for grant funding for research. According to the Idaho Department of Lands, funds from the sale of the onld Agricultural College endowment land near Caldwell, $23,250,000, will be used to purchase the land in the Magic Valley. The CAFE has already received upwards of $8.5 million in donations from the industry.