Refugees Work in Dairies

 When Joe Dalton, University of Idaho Extension dairy specialist, was approached by Boise’s International Rescue Committee (IRC) to train refugees in dairy work, he didn’t hesitate. Dalton knew that area dairy producers were looking for legally documented, work-authorized employees, and he suspected that the refugees—many of them from farming backgrounds—would respond readily to the training and perform well at the work. “We’ve gotten together on educational programs such as milking schools, we have also on the drawing board plans for a calving management school, also plans for an artificial insemination school and a calf raising school.”

 Dalton says the program is working. 16 milking class graduates have already begun work at Threemile Canyon Farms in Boardman, Ore., joining 14 other IRC refugees who previously were placed there and the results have been so positive that the dairy plans to hire more Extension-taught IRC refugees.  Dalton says a lot of these folks have backgrounds in farming—some have had their own livestock and their own farms—and I think they’ve found something familiar. They appear to be very dedicated, they’re very willing to learn and they’re enthusiastic.”

 Some Idaho dairies are even offering free English language instruction to its diverse group of refugees, who are native to Burma, Nepal, Togo, Iraq and Bhutan.