Herds of sheep and goats are brought in to consume dry grasses, weeds, and low-lying combustable biomass, that dramatically slows down the rate at which a fire spreads. Photo courtesy of Placer County

PLACER COUNTY, CA (MPG) – A new California law backed by Placer County has restored wage parity between goat and sheep herders, resolving a pay disparity that local officials warned could jeopardize prescribed grazing programs used to reduce wildfire danger.

Assembly Bill 187, passed during the final hours of the legislative session Aug. 31, places goat and sheep herders under the same specialized minimum monthly salary structure through Jan. 1, 2029.

The legislation followed months of concern over what happened when a temporary wage exemption for goat herders expired June 30.

Beginning July 1, goat herders became subject to standard agricultural overtime requirements while sheep herders continued operating under a monthly salary structure.

“Current universal overtime rules that apply to other industries really aren’t applicable or feasible for this industry. The County of Placer will take a similar position. My intention would be to really help work with the legislation to really help work with the legislature to find a more permanent solution,” said Josh Huntsinger, Agricultural Commission and Director of Agriculture, Parks, and Natural Resources.

For grazing operators, the difference was dramatic. Potential annual wage costs for a goat herder could have risen to roughly $240,000, compared with about $60,000 under the previous wage structure.

Placer County officials joined a bipartisan coalition of state lawmakers in advocating for a solution, arguing that the disparity threatened the economic viability of prescribed grazing companies and could ultimately reduce the availability of an increasingly important wildfire-prevention tool.

A UC Davis study also supported wage parity, finding that sheep and goat herding involve substantially similar work.

That became a central argument in the debate: Why should workers performing essentially the same job be governed by dramatically different wage requirements based on whether they herd goats or sheep?

The issue was particularly important in Placer County, where prescribed grazing is used to reduce vegetation and wildfire fuels.

“As far as how close we are to losing them, I think what we would have seen is that the vendor would have to pass along that cost to the county. For instance, if a vendor’s contracted for $100,000 worth of work and their costs double or triple, they’re either not gonna be able to do that work for us, or they’re gonna have to have a contract that doubles or triples in price. So we the county would be put in a position where we’d either have to absorb a massive cost increase or no longer be able to hire that grazer and then that grazer wouldn’t have contracts and would have to basically reduce or eliminate that business.  It’s a real business killer for those grazer,” said Huntsinger.

 20 percent of California’s roughly 500,000 sheep and an even larger share of its 125,000 goats are used for targeted grazing. Photo courtesy of Placer County

The county contracts with grazing companies to manage hazardous vegetation on county-owned property, particularly parkland. CAL FIRE also uses targeted grazing as part of its wildfire prevention efforts.

Goats can be particularly effective because they consume brush and vegetation in places that can be difficult to reach with equipment. Steep slopes, rocky terrain and areas near homes and other development can make mechanical vegetation removal challenging.

Prescribed grazing allows livestock to reduce that vegetation before it can become fuel for a wildfire.

But the work requires herders who remain with the animals for extended periods, moving and monitoring livestock and caring for them while grazing projects progress across properties.

Because herding does not fit neatly into a conventional eight-hour workday, grazing operators argued that applying standard agricultural overtime requirements to goat herders while exempting sheep herders created an enormous financial imbalance.

Without a change in the law, operators warned that companies could be forced to raise prices significantly, reduce their use of goats or leave the prescribed grazing business altogether.

For Placer County, that could have meant fewer options for managing vegetation at a time when wildfire prevention remains a major concern.

 Sheep and goats return nutrients to the soil, help control invasive plant species, reduce bare soil exposure, and support native perennial grasses and biodiversity. Photo courtesy of Placer County

The issue also has statewide implications. The Governor’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force identified expansion of prescribed grazing as one of its 2025 Key Deliverables, reflecting growing interest in using livestock as part of California’s broader vegetation-management strategy.

AB 187 gives grazing companies some certainty by extending the common wage structure through the beginning of 2029.

State Sen. Melissa Hurtado, D-Bakersfield, praised the restoration of wage parity following passage of the legislation, which ended the two-month period in which goat and sheep herders were treated differently under state wage rules.

The legislation does not permanently resolve the issue. Unless lawmakers take further action, the current wage provisions are scheduled to expire Jan. 1, 2029.

That leaves California several years to determine how goat and sheep herders should be compensated over the long term.

For Placer County, however, passage of AB 187 addressed the more immediate concern: keeping the cost of prescribed grazing from increasing to a level that could make the practice impractical.

The result is a wage system that once again treats goat and sheep herders alike — and, county officials and grazing advocates contend, helps preserve an important tool in Placer County’s efforts to reduce vegetation and wildfire risk.