Carol Ryan Dumas recently wrote an article, Study weighs dairy industry’s social impact, published in the Capital Press. The reported study indicates the growth of the Hispanic workforce as a key part on the discussion. This has some interesting findings that are definitely worth reading. Check it out…

Unprecedented growth in Idaho’s dairy industry over the past decade brought both economic gains and concerns about the community impact of a growing Hispanic workforce. Paralleling the industry’s expansion and geographic concentration, Southern Idaho’s Hispanic population has grown by 85 percent since 2000.

Perceptions that foreign workers are overburdening schools, health-care services and the justice system led dairymen to fund a University of Idaho study of the community impacts of a changing industry and a changing demographic. The two-year study, costing more than $60,000, was released this week.

“We asked the university for the study to quantify perceptions and offer solutions,” said Bob Naerebout, executive director of the Idaho Dairymen’s Association. “We wanted the study to try to understand what the actual impacts are. We knew there would be positives and negatives.”

What resulted was a long, complicated study on those community impacts, the only one of its kind, said Priscilla Salant, UI outreach and engagement coordinator and one of the lead researchers.
What the study found was mostly positive, she said.