Proposed changes to visa program frustrates Routt County sheepherder, industry groups

Recently tightened restrictions on an agricultural visa worker program are causing headaches for a Routt County rancher and other sheep and goat ranches across the country. In a policy memo issued Dec. 14, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said it would end a decades-old practice of allowing sheep and goat herders from entering and staying in the country for three consecutive, back-to-back years under the H-2A program. The new rules subject petitions for herding positions to the same analysis that temporary and seasonal work visas undergo through the program. In the memo, the federal department said the changes will make regulations more consistent and ensure fare wages for seasonal and temporary workers. The change is scheduled to take effect June 1, 2020, according to the memo. Opponents, including ranchers and industry groups, argue the new policy will make it harder to do business and hurt ranchers’ profits. As Todd Hagenbuch, the agriculture extension agent for Colorado State University in Routt County explained, the longer stints for herders under the H-2A have allowed ranches to hire and keep an experienced workforce. The extended time frame has been allowed since President Dwight. D. Eisenhower was in office in the 1950s. Almost all sheep and goat herders come from outside the U.S., Hagenbuch said, particularly from Latin American countries, like Peru. “They rely on these highly skilled, very qualified herders to do this work,” he said of sheep and goat ranchers like Maneotis. “This is not something you can just put an ad in the paper for.” Hagenbuch said the policy change adds another layer of complexity to the hiring process, which could have a negative impact on other local ranchers. “It’s not a high margin kind of business to be in — it’s pretty tight. To further create issues to get quality herders here could prove real challenging for the few sheepherders we have left in the area,” he said. Routt County is home to about 10 sheep ranches by Hagenbuch’s count, which include generations-old operations...MORE