Increasingly in recent years, Californians have put goats’ voracious and almost indiscriminate diets to work, minimizing fuel for wildfires across the state — a method that has been heralded as sustainable, economical and effective at reducing underbrush that can become dangerous in the hot summer months.
But goat ranchers worry a recent change in state labor requirements for herders could jeopardize the future of the industry — which some have said is particularly important this year, after an extremelyGoat herders were recently reclassified by California labor regulators, differentiating them from sheep herders — a new distinction that means goat herders will no longer be eligible for a monthly herders’ compensation, set at a minimum of $2,755 plus required overtime.
“We can’t afford that; cities can’t afford that,” said Tim Arrowsmith, the owner and manager of Western Grazers in Red Bluff, who employs a few dozen herders for his several thousand goats. He said that monthly salary is almost four times what he currently pays his goat herders, which he already considers a fair wage, noting that they are also provided with housing, groceries, cellphones and clothes.
Western Grazers’ working goats in Redding, Calif., eat brush and dry grass, which is a wildfire preventive measure. Arrowsmith said if this switch goes into effect next year, he will not be able to sustain his goat-grazing business — and many areas in need of his easy and ecofriendly fire abatement will be at a loss.