01/25/06 Dairymen helping their communities

When it comes to giving back to the community Idaho dairy farmers can certainly be counted on to contribute. Dairy farm families recently raised more than 38 thousand dollars at the United Dairymen of Idaho annual meeting. New Plymouth dairyman Frank Teunissen, one of the auction co-chairs said he got a call from fellow dairyman Mike Roth. TEUNISSEN "He put me in charge of the Treasure Valley and what we wanted to do was come up with some good charity funds for that. So what we did was I had a group of four ladies who called all the dairymen in the Treasure Valley area to see what they could donate and all that." Tena Petter of Buhl and Rupert's Steve Whitesides solicited auction items from the Magic Valley. More than 75 dairy families participated in the auction. The money raised will benefit the Boise Valley Habitat for Humanity, the Red Cross, South Central Community Action Partners and the Pregnancy Crisis Center in Twin Falls along with Jubilee House, which is a Twin Falls shelter for women and children. Its not just auctions, Idaho dairymen still continue their involvement with youth. TEUNISSEN "We do the Idaho High School activities fund. Through the years we have put millions of dollars into that. Also we do the state championships too for all the sports. If you've ever seen that, look at the football championship, it is called the Milk Bowl. Kind of fun for us to do." Idaho dairymen, part of a billion dollar industry that is taking the time and effort to help those who need it. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott