By: @Ophelia Szigeti
For decades, goats have played an important role in California's wildfire prevention efforts by reducing vegetation and managing hazardous fuels. From protecting critical infrastructure to clearing overgrown open space, prescribed grazing has become an increasingly valuable tool for local governments working to reduce wildfire risk.
However, a recently expired labor provision now threatens the economic viability of many commercial goat grazing operations.
Why it matters to special districts
Special districts of all types rely on prescribed grazing to manage vegetation, reduce wildfire fuels, and maintain defensible space around facilities and infrastructure. Compared with mechanical or chemical vegetation management, targeted grazing can provide a cost-effective and environmentally beneficial option in areas where traditional methods are difficult, expensive, or impractical. If commercial goat grazing operations become financially unsustainable, districts could face fewer grazing providers, higher vegetation management costs, and reduced access to an important wildfire mitigation tool.
For more than 25 years, California has recognized that sheep and goat herders perform their work differently than most hourly employees. Herders are responsible for their animals 24 hours a day, but their active work is intermittent. Because treating every hour a herder is responsible for the herd as compensable work time would create impractical labor costs, state law has historically allowed employers to pay a minimum monthly wage, including housing, while still providing important labor protections.
During implementation of AB 1066 (Gonzalez, 2016), which phased in overtime requirements for agricultural workers, the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) determined that language in the wage order specifically referenced sheep herders but did not include goat herders. As a result, goat herders became subject to standard hourly and overtime requirements, creating labor costs that threatened the continued use of commercial goat grazing.
The Legislature addressed this issue by passing SB 143 (Committee on Budget and Fisal Review, 2023), which extended the same alternative monthly wage structure and labor protections to goat herders and those responsible for both sheep and goats. However, those provisions sunset on July 1, 2026, and the Legislature has not yet acted to extend them.
Without legislative action, labor costs for goat grazing operations are expected to increase dramatically. Industry estimates indicate that monthly labor costs could rise from approximately $4,938 per herder to the equivalent of roughly $20,000 per month under standard hourly and overtime requirements. Such an increase could make many prescribed grazing operations economically unsustainable, reducing the availability of a widely used and effective wildfire fuel reduction tool throughout California.
Share Your District's Experience
CSDA is working with a coalition to pursue legislation that would reimpose the alternative monthly wage structure following its July 1, 2026, sunset. Member support will be important as the Legislature considers a path forward.
If your district uses goats for vegetation management or wildfire fuel reduction and would like to share your examples for potential use in CSDA’s advocacy, we want to hear from you. Please contact Legislative Analyst Ophelia Szigeti at Ophelias@csda.net.
Stay tuned to Advocacy News and CSDA eNews for additional updates.
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