As a public research university, we tackle problems important to Idaho that have worldwide impact. What is more crucial than how we feed a hungry planet? How do we supply protein efficiently and sustainably? How do we create a workforce ready to contribute innovation and expertise? How do we partner with communities and our industries to foster sustainable prosperity? The proposed Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (CAFE) at the University of Idaho will tackle those critical challenges. We recently took a significant step toward bringing CAFE to life when the State Board of Education approved our acquisition of 640 acres of land near Rupert. We partnered with the Idaho Dairymen’s Association – that organization supported the $4.5 million acquisition with $2 million – and the Whitesides family on the purchase. The 2,000-cow research dairy we plan to build on this site will be the largest operation of its kind in the United States. CAFE represents a proposed $45 million investment in animal agriculture – a fast-growing agriculture sector that provides a significant percentage of Idaho’s farm revenues. Idaho now ranks third nationally in milk production – behind only California and Wisconsin – with the dairy industry concentrated in southern Idaho, especially the Magic Valley. In addition, food processors like Glanbia, Chobani, Jerome Cheese Co. and others have emerged as notable employers. Food processors depend on a steady supply of quality milk; all of us depend on sustainable production with minimal environmental impact to preserve Idaho for future generations. Milk production relies on livestock, soil and feed, energy, and water inputs, and has considerable environmental impacts. In each case, the new research dairy at CAFE can help us work in collaboration with industry to promote effective and long-term success. Our dynamic research enterprise will also train the next generation of dairy professionals – a unique laboratory for cultivating Idaho expertise. The center’s distributed model features two other important elements: an outreach and engagement center in the Magic Valley, and a dairy processing program to be developed in collaboration with the College of Southern Idaho (CSI). We’ve already identified a location for the outreach and engagement center at Crossroads Point, in Jerome County. The distributed model of the center offers us the most prudent fiscal course, a way to best work with collaborators like CSI, and an opportunity to place our outreach and engagement center in the population center of Twin Falls. A number of key partners have helped make our progress possible so far. The Idaho Dairymen’s Association and the Whitesides family were instrumental in securing the research dairy site near Rupert, of course. Glanbia, Elanco, Northwest Farm Credit Services and the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation have contributed to the project. The Idaho Barley Commission is a supporter. The Jerome 20/20 economic development organization has been highly engaged. We’re proud to have the support of private individuals, as well – people like Don and Mary Johnson, who see the vision for this project, the need it fills, and the opportunities it stands to unlock for our state and our world (read more about the Johnsons below). Partnership also comes from the state of Idaho, which has appropriated $10 million for this project, with a planned total contribution of $15 million if we can provide $30 million in non-state funds. Fundraising for CAFE continues – if you’d like to get involved, contact Jim Miller at 208-885-7476 – as we build on this base of support. The purchase of the Rupert-area property represents our first step toward the world-leading dairy research, education, and outreach that Idaho deserves and of which Vandals can be proud. | | Go Vandals! Chuck Staben President | | | Johnsons Help U of I Lead the Way with CAFE Project Don ’59 and Mary Johnson have spent their careers in Idaho dairy. After completing a bachelor’s degree in animal and dairy science at the University of Idaho, Don returned to Kuna as the second generation to own and operate the family dairy. He and Mary married and raised three sons on the dairy, operating it for 40 years before deciding to sell the property and retire. The Johnsons’ experience in the dairy industry and decades of community involvement inform their view on the importance of the Idaho Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (CAFE) to provide research and education to the state and nation. The couple recently donated in support of the project. “We felt CAFE would make Idaho a place for others in the industry to follow,” Don said. “It will let us lead the way in innovation, research and marketing for the dairy industry and agriculture in general.” “The Johnson’s gift came at a perfect time to energize the CAFE project,” said Michael Parrella, dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS). “The significance of their contribution as individual dairy producers and members of the Vandal Family is hard to measure.” For more information on supporting CAFE, contact Jim Miller, director of development and capital projects for CALS, at 208-885-7476 or jimmiller@uidaho.edu. | | Collaboration Thrives at Rock Creek Ranch From Feb. 5 on MagicValley.com: Rock Creek Ranch embraces 10,400 acres in a series of succulent meadows surrounded by miles upon miles of quality rangeland below the shadow of the Smoky Mountains in Blaine County. The ranch is home to sage grouse, a species of concern, as well as moose, elk, deer, antelope and other critters. Because of its dual qualities as a working ranch with strong conservation values, the Wood River Land Trust and The Nature Conservancy, in a unique partnership with the University of Idaho, purchased Rock Creek Ranch from the Rinker Family. Under the partnership, the university provides a cow-calf cattle herd from its Nancy M. Cummings Research, Extension and Education Center in Salmon for rangeland research. The 850-acre Cummings Ranch is all irrigated pasture. Rock Creek offers an opportunity to do research on a ranch with a true rangeland setting. “It’s a great station, we can do a lot of great research here, but one of the things we’ve always lacked has been a range component,” Cummings center Superintendent John Hall said. “That means our system of production was not really relevant to the majority of the industry, which relies on range at least five to six months out of the year. So the Rock Creek Ranch gave us a wonderful opportunity to expand our research, and make our research more industry-relevant.” Read more. | | CNR Student Selected for International Program in Sweden College of Natural Resources doctoral candidate Sarah Burnet is one of 27 graduate students selected nationally for the first cohort of the Limnology and Oceanography Research Exchange (LOREX) program run by the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography. The LOREX program connects U.S. aquatic science graduate students with international scholars to collaborate on research at the collaborator's home institution. Burnett will collaborate with Janne Karlsson and Ann-Kristin Bergstrom at the Climate Impacts Research Centre at the Abisko Scientific Research Station associated with Umeå University in Sweden for two months in 2019. While at the centre, she will assess the role of sediment-released phosphorus from laboratory-incubated cores collected from arctic lakes. Her research in Sweden will be part of her doctoral dissertation, advised by Frank Wilhelm, focusing on sediment biogeochemistry and physical limnology to inform decisions for lake management. | | | | |