06/16/05 New dairies coming, others moving

In the desert south of Mountain Home construction is underway on the new Sunnyview Dairy. Ed Degroot has been in the dairy business for a decade but he's moving to Elmore County. DEGROOT "People are so friendly here, dry climate and also a good milk market and an abundance of feed." This transplant from Sunnyside, Washington will soon employ 40 to 50 people. Degroot left the long winters, the rain, the mud and encroaching suburbia to come to Idaho. DEGROOT "I absolutely love it. I'm nine miles from town so not too many houses around, I've got some good dairy neighbors here, good farmers to work with and wide open country. I absolutely love it." Dairyman John Beuker was on the move too. BEUKER "It's a big job moving seven thousand cows." That's exactly what he did, move from Jerome County to south of Burley. BEUKER "You know there was so much encroachment not only from home but dairies as well. The dairies were so close we were competing for farm ground, not only for a place to put the manure but also for feed like corn silage and hay and stuff like that." There are thousands of others who benefit from Idaho's dairy industry. You'll meet some of them tomorrow.