South Bay goat company faces closure as new CA law triggers massive wage increase for herders

Green Goat Landscapers, which uses about 1,000 goats to clear vegetation that can fuel wildfires, warns that a new California legal requirement could make goat grazing operations unsustainable. The company says herders are international workers compensated through wages and other support such as housing.

Under the new law, the company says goat herders must be paid on a 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week hourly basis rather than through the monthly salary approach the business has relied on. Sheep herders are reportedly exempt, but goat herders are not, which the company says sharply increases operating costs.

The co-owner Brian Allen claims the cost increase is large enough that the business can’t absorb it. If the law remains unchanged, the company says it would have to lay off its three goat herders and ultimately get rid of the goats because they can’t be properly cared for without them. The article also includes a second operator warning that, without changes, they may sell goats “to slaughter” and go bankrupt.

Allen says the California Legislature has until Aug. 31 to modify the law, and he’s hoping lawmakers address the issue in the session. He argues that goat grazing and herders provide a needed wildfire-prevention service that helps communities across the state.