The California Legislature’s failure to act has effectively ended many targeted goat grazing businesses that provide critical wildfire prevention services throughout California.
As a result of the new labor requirements, our company is now required to pay each of our goat herders an annual wage of $242,548.80. Ironically, sheep herders performing essentially the same work under the same conditions—but with different animals—remain exempt from these requirements. There is no practical or public safety justification for treating these two industries differently.
My son and I started our family business in 2014 with just 20 goats. Through years of hard work, we grew our operation to more than 1,000 goats and sheep. We have dedicated ourselves to providing environmentally friendly, organic vegetation management and wildfire fuel reduction services throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Our work helps homeowners, businesses, parks, utilities, and public agencies reduce wildfire risk without the use of heavy machinery or herbicides…