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TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) - As the third largest dairy producing state in the county, the Idaho Dairymen's Association calls for federal legislation to create a legal workforce on Idahos dairies.

The Idaho Dairyman's Association, or IDA, issued a labor shortage petition caused by the national conversation surrounding immigration reform.

"So we think it's in the best interest of the country to provide legal status, and legal status isn't amnesty and legal status is not citizenship, but legal status for those workers who are already here," said Bob Naerebout, executive director of the Idaho Dairymens Association.

The petition calls for a visa program for dairy farm workers.

"The programs that are in place like the H-2A program don't work for dairy, they really don't work for other agriculture as well. They're too cumbersome, there's backlogs through the government to get people through, and then they're here for a limited time period and dairy and feedlots and other businesses need workers here 365 days a year, so we need some sort of program that can allow those workers to come in and work and fill that need, said Elizabeth Kohtz, a dairy veterinarian and the president for the Twin Falls County Farm Bureau.

The Idaho Dairymen's Association estimates that up to 90 percent of labor on dairies is foreign born. The US Department of Labor states that, across the agriculture industry, anywhere from 40 to 70 percent of workers do not have legal status.

"If you look at specifically in the Magic Valley, our foreign born labor both in food processing and on dairies and in agriculture, for us it's both Latino immigrants and it's also refugees, said Naerebout. Refugees have started to fill an important void for production agriculture and our plants to where they also have those jobs."

With Idahos three percent unemployment rate, Kohtz, said it's hard for dairies to find workers.

"These are good jobs, and we just aren't able to find American born workers to do the jobs and that's why immigration reform is so important, she said.

The IDA asks people to fill out the petition by the end of February. Their goal is to get 10,000 signatures, then they'll send it to Washington, D.C.

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Idaho dairies seek immigration reform - KMVT