The dairy industry has an impact on almost every school, church, hospital and courtroom in south-central Idaho, according to a study released Monday by the University of Idaho.

And nowhere has that been felt more than in places like Jerome, Wendell and Gooding, where the Idaho State Department of Agriculture reports the highest concentration of dairy cows in the state.

The communities are home to thousands of dairy workers. Most of them Hispanic laborers, who entered the country legally with temporary agricultural licenses, known as H2A visas.

But critics say the dairy industry is overburdening public services with its growing population of laborers while Idaho dairymen argue that allegations against the nearly 29,000 laborers are unfounded.

Now, new research may help clarify these long-running disputes.

The University of Idaho released a two-year study that shows how the dairy industry and its labor force have impacted southern Idaho communities.

Priscilla Salant, outreach coordinator for the University of Idaho, said it's the first time researchers conducted a comprehensive study of dairy's social impact.

The study, which was funded by the Idaho Dairymen's Association, relied on general public surveys, face-to-face interviews and secondary data.

J.D. Wulfhorst, director of Social Science Research Unit, which helped lead research, said the study found that tensions have been growing - largely due to the sudden and substantial growth of the industry.

Between 1997 and 2008, cash receipts from milk sales more than tripled, from $634 million to $2.15 billion. And dairy farm employees in southern Idaho increased at about the same rate from 2,100 to 6,100 during the same time period.

The Hispanic population in Jerome increased almost 80 percent from 2000 to 2008. Wendell saw a 70 percent increase, and Gooding experienced a nearly 40 percent increase.

"Anytime you have a change like this that happens so quickly, there are going to be some issues that need to be addressed," said Jerome Police Chief Dan Hall.

Many of those issues revolve around language barriers, said Wulfhorst.

"There is a need for an interpreter in the court systems, and right now those municipalities are baring that cost," Wolfhurst said. "Language also has been the barrier that is causing tension in communities."

He recommended that the dairy industry and the University of Idaho work together to mitigate those challenges by providing a full-time, Spanish speaking community liaison.

He said the liaison would be responsible for building good relationship between the industry and public agencies.

Bob Naerebout, director of the Idaho Dairymen's Association, said the association's board of directors has asked the University of Idaho's College of Agricultural and Life Sciences to provide more information on how to create the liaison position.

Wulfhorst said the study also disproves allegations that migrant dairy workers are overburdening hospitals and jails.

"Based on what we saw, the number of felonies among Hispanics is declining and it's low enough not to be a substantial drain on the system."he said. "Hospitals also said that Hispanics were not overburdening the system."

Salant added that the study shows dairy has helped insulate south-central Idaho from the national recession.

"This part of the state is weathering the recession much better than other rural parts of the state,"she said. "The dairy industry is really driving population growth and diversification."

Joshua Palmer may be reached at jpalmer@magicvalley.com