Idaho CAFE will include a 2,000-cow research dairy and 640-acre demonstration farm, as well as a Jerome-based education center and a food science program developed with the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls.
“The Idaho CAFE project has been conceptualized for years, but the need for this integrated research center is growing by the day,” Michael P. Parrella, Dean for the University of Idaho College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, stated in the groundbreaking ceremony last summer. “The dairy industry nationwide has set aggressive goals to become carbon neutral and maximize water quality and quantity among other environmental sustainability goals in the very near future.”
Last summer Chobani contributed a large, $1 million to the construction of the nation’s largest research dairy in Idaho’s Magic Valley.
“Sustainability is part of the fabric of Chobani. Caring for our people and animals, conserving resources, putting back what we take – this is how we operate, and this is how dairy farmers operate,” Hamdi Ulukaya, Chobani founder and CEO said.
“The reality for our dairy producers that I represent, sustainability honestly is not always the most welcome term because typically the expectation that they must once again figure out how to do more with less. That’s the pressure that our dairy producers feel,” he said. “This Research Center is all built around how we help give our dairyman solutions. How do we help them accomplish these goals?”
Design for the project’s second phase should be completed this summer, with the bid process occurring from September through November. Phase two will include manure handling facilities and lagoons, a maternity barn, a feed area, an office building, and structures to provide shade and wind protection for cows in a dry lot with several pens for research purposes.
In addition to Chobani’s contribution to this project, other companies have followed suit. Cargill and Redox Bio-Nutrients both announced $500,000 donations toward CAFÉ, bringing the total contributions from the industry for the project to almost $9 million.
