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Posted on 07/11/2026 1:51:24 AM PDT by grundle
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- A Bay Area goat landscaping company says it could be forced out of business if changes are not made to a new state law that would significantly increase compensation costs for goat herders.
Green Goat Landscapers in Gilroy, which uses about 1,000 goats to clear vegetation that can fuel wildfires, said the law could threaten the future of grazing operations that play a role in wildfire prevention across the state.
"We really provide a needed service, and it benefits all of California. Goats go where people and machines can't go, and that really reduces that risk of wildfire," co-owner Brian Allen said.
The company said its herders come from around the world and are compensated through a combination of salary, housing and other benefits.
However, a provision in a new state law requires goat herders to be paid on a 24-hour-per-day, seven-day-per-week hourly basis rather than through the current monthly salary system. Sheep herders are exempt from the requirement.
According to the company, the change would sharply increase labor costs.
"It takes our wages from $64,000 up to $240,000 a year," Allen said.
The company said it cannot absorb those costs and warned that it would have to lay off its three goat herders if the law remains unchanged.
Without herders, these goats just can't be properly taken care of, and it will force companies to have to get rid of them.
One such group in Red Bluff said these proposed changes will lead to a grim outlook for their animals.
"We will effectively sell these goats to slaughter, and we will go out of business and probably file bankruptcy on this business and be done with it in the state of California," Western Grazers owner Tim Arrowsmith said.
Allen said his family-owned business, which has operated in the Bay Area for decades, could face a similar fate if lawmakers do not modify the law.
"We haven't got there yet. I don't want to get there. We're hoping that, like I said, that this issue will be taken up in the traveling session of the state legislature and it'll get resolved," Allen said.
The California Legislature has until Aug. 31 to make changes.
Allen said that without a correction, goat grazing operations, herders and communities that rely on vegetation management services could face significant consequences.
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Sounds like another case of fraud Moe.
Our community is having goats clear the brush surrounding our community. The herder put an electric fence up around the area and dropped off a dozen goats and left. He said he’d be back in about a week. No herder required.
SAME RULES WILL APPLY TO SHEEP HERDERS
California, the state that forces goat herders to be paid $240,000.
The jokes write themselves .
Headline stolen from The Bee?
They say the goats identify as sheep.
There really should be a law against imposing taxes and regu,ations that force food producers out of business!
Reminds me of when Newsom signed the law giving fast food workers $20.00/hour - claiming it will “allow them to enter the middle class!”
How did that work out?
“Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS): Data cited by the California Globe indicated a loss of 36,565 jobs between September 2023 and April 2025, though other quarterly BLS data analyzed by the Employment Policies Institute (EPI) showed losses between 16,000 and 19,100 jobs.”
There are now kiosks everywhere in fast food restaurants for ordering - and AI is taking over drive-thrus.
Newsom, and those around him are economic illiterates. Economics wins every time.
How did it taste?
Like chicken, I suspect.🤔
However, a provision in a new state law requires goat herders to be paid on a 24-hour-per-day, seven-day-per-week hourly basis rather than through the current monthly salary system. Sheep herders are exempt from the requirement.
Apparently, the Brokeback sheep ranch owners had pictures of the California legislators.
Maybe AI can help (imagining Robocop as a goatherd).
So, if I get a goat and farm him out to my neighbor’s acreage,
I’ll get $240,000?
And if I’m homeless can I add on living expenses?
Yes.
And more if the goat identifies as a pink unicorn on Tuesdays .
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