Stay updated with breaking news from Tim Arrowsmith. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Hundreds of goats munch on long blades of yellow grass on a hillside next to a sprawling townhouse complex. They were hired to
Grazing goats are in high demand to devour wild grass and shrubs that are proliferating across California after a drought-busting winter of heavy rain and snow. When the summer heat arrives, that vegetation will dry out and provide fresh tinder for wildfires. Public and private landowners are turning to goats as an environmentally friendly way to clear vegetation instead of using machines or chemical herbicides. But goatherding companies say California’s farmworker overtime law is making it more expensive to provide grazing services and threaten to put them out of business.
Companies have historically been allowed to pay goat and sheepherders a monthly minimum salary rather than an hourly minimum wage, but that's all changing.
New overtime rules for goatherds could increase pay to $14,000 a month by next year – and companies say they cannot afford it
WGMD - The Talk Of Delmarva - Serving Delmarva Since 1980