A goat herding company based in Red Bluff says it will go out of business if it has to follow normal wage laws. Because goat herding is a 24-hour-a-day job, the state had a special provision allowing them to be paid a monthly compensation of around $5,000 a month. That provision expired on July First and has not been renewed by the Legislature. Tim Arrowsmith, owner of “Western Grazers” says under the law, the cost of employing each herder is going from $60,000 a year to almost $240,000 a year. Arrowsmith says that’s far beyond what he can afford to pay. He has around 5,000 goats and many of them are hired under contract by the City of Redding and other local governments to eliminate dry vegetation that can fuel fires. If the state does not do something before the end of the month, Arrowsmith says he’ll sue them.
-Steve Gibson