Ranchers brace for tripled wages

Sheep ranchers in Johnson County say proposed changes from the U.S. Department of Labor that would triple wages for foreign sheepherders will cripple the sheep business. The draft revision for the H2A visa would triple the wages in increments over the next five years, from the current rate of $750 per month to $2,400 per month. Ranchers say the combination of significantly increased wage costs and the proposal to house herders at the ranch, instead of the traditional practice of living with the herd, add pressure for ranchers to increase revenue. Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead added his voice to the protest on June 2, when he asked the federal agency to retract the proposal, consult industry and begin again. Since the 1950s, special procedures under the Department of Labor have set labor rules, including wages, for the H2A visa, which allows ag employers to hire foreign workers. The proposed rules change was instigated when four former herders filed a lawsuit in 2011 saying the special provisions were unlawful because they didn’t follow the Administrative Procedure Act, which requires a public comment period. Jim Magagna of the Wyoming Stockgrowers Association said the economics of the industry can’t support tripled wages. “To put it as simply as I can, as they (the rules) are proposed, it will spell an end to open range sheep herding in Wyoming,” Magagna said...more