The University of Idaho (U of I), Moscow, Idaho, is now home to The Idaho Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (CAFE) education and outreach complex at the Crossroads Point Business Center.

The 6-acre property is located in Jerome County along U.S. Highway 93 and north of the intersection of Interstate 84. The property will accommodate a public visitor center, faculty offices, laboratories, classrooms and housing linked to CAFE.

“This purchase marks an important advance in realizing the overall goal of the Idaho Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment,” says Michael Parrella, dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. “CAFE will help Idaho’s important dairy industry and the broader agricultural and business communities in the state by improving their sustainability, so they remain a vital foundation of Idaho’s economy.”

Plans call for the CAFE Discovery Complex to partner with collaborating organizations to tell the story of Idaho agriculture. The plan was endorsed by the Idaho Dairymen’s Association, Twin Falls, Idaho; Idaho Farm Bureau Federation, Boise, Idaho; Jerome 20/20, Jerome, Idaho, and other groups.

 “We are excited by this commitment from U of I to expand both its research and education opportunities here, and to help our region tell the story of agriculture, our most dynamic economic force,” says Arlen Crouch, owner of the Crossroads Business Center.

The Idaho CAFE project will also involve enhanced food processing education and research opportunities in a partnership with the College of Southern Idaho, Twin Falls, Idaho.