MAGIC VALLEY, Idaho — The University of Idaho hopes to team up with the College of Southern Idaho for a new Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment (CAFE) in the Magic Valley.
UI is working with the College of Southern Idaho to develop a food processing pilot plant and educational programs.
“The hope is that we can develop programs there where potential students can get a degree in animal science and food science, but they don’t have to come to Moscow to do it they can do it on the CSI campus,” said Michael Parrella, dean of Agriculture at UI.
In addition to educational programs, CAFE will include a research dairy in Rupert and an outreach center in Jerome.
“The research then at CAFE with this dairy is going to be designed to answer questions that the dairy-men are going to be facing from both a production perspective and from an environmental perspective,” said Parrella.
One of CAFE’s main goals will be addressing constraints on water usage and environmental quality while supporting sectors of agriculture and food processing. UI hopes to have its first cows milked at its planned dairy by 2024.
