Actually that's true. Meat are sold wholesale for less than cost of raising the sheep's. Farmers buys farm inputs cash at retail, plus pay for their own shipping, and sells farm output wholesale, with free shipping.
I shore sheep in Colorado during the 1980s. The sheepherders had the exact same wagons. You would think in 40 years those ranchers would have upgraded the sheepherders a accomodation.
That design of trailer is the exact same as the first ones designed in the early 1900s, sad, I’ve seen a few outfits that treat them right and get them nice newer travel trailers
@@MidWestLife2022, they can stay where they came from. The US needs to make welfare recipients do this job. Or prisoners on parole. I'm an ex con, I would have loved that job, my PO sent me to burger king.
yup the boss is full of it, but that's why the legal immigrants don't have jobs. living in that little trailer as an employee..... Why would a legal immigrant put up with those conditions. not cool time to close the border.
The boss is referring to the cost of living and exchange rate when talking about more “take home pay”. I used to remodel homes with Mexicans that would moneygram their money back home (Mexico) They’d talk about $50,000 like it was their retirement goal. $50,000 is a whole LOT more in Mexico, Honduras or Venezuela than it is in the United States. That’s what he’s referring to..
I bet those little fiberglass trailers are cold as heck when that Colorado wind is blowing through there in the blizzards of winter. Holy cow! In this day and age still taking advantage of these poor people is a shame.
You mean how cartel used people . And expect USA to give them a job . To pay off the shark loan of 10 k ! For each person 😂 so are we the one provided to the cartels 😂 human trafficking and smuggling. (Is not against most state laws )
I’m an American Indian from Arizona. I grew up with sheep and miss it very much. as I grow older I yearn for the adventure. Yes being outdoors is incredible. I know what these guys mean when they say it’s a tough job, especially when your employer does’t take care of you.
I was a 35 year old woman who took a job as a sheepherder in Montana---this was exactly my life. Toughest job I've ever done---lonely and exhausting. My dogs and horse were everything. Work was 24/7. I had no phone or ability to communicate with the rancher, but he came every 2 weeks with provisions. I kept a journal of those days (20+ years ago) and can't believe some of the beauty I was able to witness, but pretty much nothing has changed as far as accommodations/pay.
Growing up in the early 1970s, (as a 7 yo) I witnessed firsthand the harsh treatment of Mexican laborers by farm owners. My father, a participant in the US Bracero Program (1960s) worked tirelessly in the fields of Northern California for over 20 years. Despite his dedication, he was ultimately fired for speaking out against the poor working conditions. Don't believe the farm owner's lies! If they're speaking, they're likely deceiving you. I challenge them to live in the same squalid conditions they subject their workers to. Let them experience the isolation and hardships these men face daily. For meager wages. These laborers endure such harsh conditions only for the love of their families back home. Their sacrifices deserve respect, dignity, and fair treatment.
The owners should provide these guys with books, journals, art supplies so they can draw, write and more and release the creativity within and help ease some of that loneliness 😢
I come from a long line of sheep herders. My Grandfather raised a large family, traveling to herd sheep in Wyoming for over 31 years. He returned every winter to New Mexico and returned in the spring and summer to Wyoming. Most of his children, including my dad followed in his steps. New Mexico had land, beauty, families, but no cash paying jobs. My dad and mom meet in Wyoming and I was born, raised and drafted in Wyoming. Sheep herding is a job that requires an ability to live in solitude, in philosophy, taking caring of vulnerable animals and family. My grandfather spoke little but I learned to love him and respect him for how he lived, a simple but successful man. All of his children did well, most of his grandchildren did well. I obtained a marketing degree, a professional government auditor, my wife a teacher, my daughter is an attorney as an Associate Dictator, my other daughter is a health care director, my grandson and his wife are medical doctors, and my granddaughter is an author of 2 books. My Grandfather could never imagine this future.
@@Mike-zw7fq This isn't "camping" you dolt, this is surviving out in the wilderness alone, with sparse resources, for years at a time. Why try and needlessly minimize how difficult it is? It's completely self-sacrificial to not only take care of the wellbeing of thousands of animals at a time, while completely isolated and alone in a foreign land, but to be willing to bear that hardship solely to provide a better life for your family. That is bravery.
It is more fun than brave, I herded for two years, only a city slicker would complain or be amazed, I guess people in 2024 have no clue what living life is really all about
Montrose is a small county and he's 4th generation (John Fields). Easy to pass when inspector is related to you (probably. This is how small town colorado goes) The other video is from Routt county, which is MFNW colorado, except for Steamboat, is the same as Montrose. Small town government where everyone knows eachother and may be related.
The living conditions for the AG workers is about the same. We have gotten to know a Mexican who comes up every year from southern Mexico. He works on a fruit farm here in Michigan picking apples and peaches. His living conditions is like those camp trailers. They aren't allowed to have fans or ac units because it would cost more in electricity which the owner isn't willing to pay. It's just a shack they live in. I gave the guy an electric toaster oven but he can't use it. These shacks are inspected and approved. It's the same living conditions my husband's grandparents provided to their white help in the 1930s. Back then it was common to live in shacks or the basement of the barn. Things haven't changed much in the last 90 years except for the color of the skin of the working people. Something needs to change. Our animals are treated better than the Mexican AG workers in a lot of farms here.
Say adios to your workers bud. I drove truck back and forth from California, Arizona, Texas with produce to Chicago. Mexican farm workers will share their last bean with you, a very caring and hardworking people.
For safety/ emergencies these men need a Satellite phone. I met some of these men in the High country of Idaho. beautiful areas but extreme remote and dangerous.. I hope these men can continue and the ranchers need to bring this system to the 21st century. It's always about the bottom line. I pay high prices for every thing Vegetables, meats and most other crops these people need its worth their commitment. These ranchers and their workers require modern interventions... Respectfully offered...
No excuse to not upgrade that "housing" when there are inexpensive, up-to-date RVs and tiny homes with solar hot water etc. available. I live in New Mexico and I know people who got nicer trailers than that for free.
He said he earned $650 a month which equals to roughly $7800 a year in 1990! That amount with inflation is roughly $19K in today’s dollars. I doubt they’re making $19K but let’s assume they are. How much would it cost to treat them humanely? If you Google the average Profit a sheep brings the owner its between $20 and $50 so let’s meet in the middle $20 K divided by $30 it’s roughly 630 sheep it’s costing the owner per year to employ the sheep herder. Again I ask you how much would it cost to treat them humanely? You saw the condition they were living under and how faithful, honorable and appreciative they were to the owner. Would you siting in your home reading this comment stand for this? This is just abuse! Semper Fi!
??? well, then the workers should go back to Mexico because they must pay much better... You do realize their pay goes directly to their pocket ? They provide full food and board.
Semper Fi? Abuse?? Well then, you must know that in 1990 a Marine Private (or Army) was making just shy of 500, and that was a raise after basic and advanced training. . . and those living conditions weren't (arguably) nearly as pleasant. And surely you know that some years are a loss for ranchers, a few are a gain, and most are near to even. Herders have lived like that for ever. That's what a herder does. Maybe you didn't notice the lack of utilities in the area during the summer graze when the sheep push high and wide? Those "tiny homes" (herder's wagon) have been and still are about the only thing that works way up there. . . . Maybe you were thinking these wagons were next to the ranch house for all the summer? And just maybe, life isn't nearly as simple and straightforward as your fascinating perceptions have concluded.
They do this because they know the workers have no rights and they can just ship them back when their bodies are no longer useful. A deplorable system of modern day slavery and Synagogue of Satan types are defending it
This was a reality for European shepherds too. A shepherd's wagon, a sheep dog or two, sometimes a horse, and nothing but sheep, mountains, and graze as far as they could see. I miss when Natives were the sheep owners and herders. The gov stole and killed hundreds of thousands of their herds before moving them off the land right before and during the Great Depression.
I would check your facts sir...sheep were brought to the America by Europeans. Perhaps you are referring to the Bison but sheep are not native to America...Ask the Gauchos down in South America.
I hunted near a bunch of sheep heardsrs this year and the seemed to be happy, they had a truck they were using to get water from a spring near by. Living a hard life that's far sure
How the heck do you claim to know anything about their backgrounds? It’s a job they signed up for. If they want to negotiate for more amenities then they should. So sick of the rich entitled white man sentiment that seems so prevalent these days. Hey PBS, before you delete my comment can we get a follow up of the lives changed with the money these guys sent back to Mexico?
They mostly get exploited back in their homeland. They're doing what they signed up to do. You might look into taking a seasonal job on a ranch sometime. . . I'm guessing your heart will hurt less, and you'll appreciate more.
Yup. Our people are the most wholesome hardest working mfs in the world all to get discriminated against and called wet bags for stuff the cartels in other countries do...racism is powerful and primal
Your avatar makes me ask one question? Why can't Americans do that job? You can let them through the wall if they will work for you, for less than Americans, but everyone else is illegal? Seems a little hipocritical, doesn't it? "They're taking er jerbsss."
Most of all I believe the way there speech is they do the job because they love going out there with their heart I’m from Oaxaca n I can relate to them.
These guys work on a contract basis, 1-3 years. Through the H2a program the guys have to return to their home country at the end of their contract to be reevaluated for the next, some choose to go home every year on the longer contracts, others choose to stay to make extra money. Most ranchers rehire the same guys unless they are unhappy with their work and sometimes the workers are deemed a flight risk and cannot return to the US. As for seasons, herders are needed year round. In the spring you have lambing which is labor intensive for everyone(including the boss) especially if the ranch does shed lambing, range lambing is still intensive but it is less physical work. Then they grow their lambs on local pastures, hay, or in the desert(Nevada, Utah, Wyoming,etc), usually in June-July the range allotments will open up (mountain grazing). These allotments close in Aug-Sep sometimes earlier based on range conditions (privatly owned range can graze longer). In the fall ranchers will graze deserts, hayfields, cornstalks, etc. Herders are used at the home place to put up fences or they are with the sheep on the smaller pastures. Herders are needed year round to protect the sheep from predators and to make sure the sheep are where they are supposed to be. As for camp conditions. The camps have to be inspected by the state every 3 years. The camps have the meet state requirements for heating, food, water, laundry, hygiene, overall conditions, etc. And it is true that most sheep herders make more than the boss. H2a herders are payed based on federal minimum wage, and each state has their own set of policies and adjustments that go on top of federal. Ranchers are lucky to breakeven, some ranches are only surviving because they have a wife that works in town.
Amazing and talk about ur sobering reality. I’m a trucker. 30 yrs in an 28 states . Flatbed an RGN and tanker . I thought I’d lived a lonely working life Not even close !
When I was doing the Colorado trail there was a segment where I remember seeing a man on top of a hill just looking down at me and my brother. The sheep were roaming across the hill as he was in a higher elevation watching their every move.
Mis respetos para estos muchachos trabajadores. Que vida tan triste 😞 yo tenia a un amigo del Peru 🇵🇪 . Espiritu Inga su nombre lo vicite a su camper y le llebe un costal de papa. Super amigo , pasado el tiempo me llamo desde su pais que alegria recordar momentos 😊 👍
I'm guessing your herders are living high on the hog, with amazing accomodations and top pay? Must be nice to be a 1%er in the sheep ranching community. . . . I'm sure he does what he can. Likely barely breaking even. Most years I'm sure he feels lucky to have made it with enough to try for another round. And, guessing his hired hands are glad when he does.
@@theblacktieguy6694 Not even close to "every sincle comment". But thanks for bumping it along. I like facts. Most people don't. Facts don't "justify", they clarify. Justification is very subjective. . . . Most of these NPR-following liberals see a man doing some field work and their soft brains can't comprehend it. Up thru the last 25 or so years this is all we ever did. . . and many still do. Keep punchin' that clock, son. 🙂
Treat the sheepherders well. They work hard as Shepards an ancient craft!! Think about it… Your animals are tended by the people you hire and how you treat them Your animals are treated!!
Nice effort - but not without bias.much more complex than can be shown in 10 mins. I grew up in a sheep family in WY. We treated our herders well and fairly. Nearly all do. Like all jobs fair work for pay and respect for employees keep them there. If not, they go elsewhere. A free market economy works. And yes there were some years the herders made more than the owners; some years saw financial losses. But not all years.
@@amyf8231 Yes, most of it is summer so, what about air conditioning? I would bet it is very hot in those "campers". Also, it is high altitude and not just summer. It gets very cold at the higher elevations. Those "campers" look like converted hay wagons. Farm workers have always been exploited, nothing has changed.
@norwalfarm similar wagons have been used for over 100 years. There isn't electricity so there's no reason to have A/C. I camp in the summer and the trailer has A/C but I don't use it because the batteries can't power it. A water tank that only lasts a few days and a black water tank that has to emptied in an RV dump, neither of those are practical with the shepherding wagon.
@@amyf8231I don’t know what mountains you live in but I lived in Colorado in the mountains for 34 years at 9,100 feet and yes it does get hot up there . Sure it cools off in the evening but it’s still hot during the day . And we all know how well those wood burning stoves work in a herders wagon , you have to stoke them continually and you need to constantly be gathering wood , there not efficient.
I have a hard time believing those trailers have been inspected unless it was by Stevie Wonder. They look terrible, and don’t give me the story that it’s probably better than what they had at home. That’s not the point, this man sold a story that isn’t true.
17 years ago my 1st job was at a farm ,didn’t speak English it all and I was getting pay 1200 a month ,with a RV as a house it was ok I would say ., and every winter guys from Peru would take sheeps over to the alfalfa fields and take care of them…😢 Anyways they were getting pay 800 a month ,only can food ,if they wanted chocolate ,candies ,chips,and stuff like that it would be discontinued so 😢 for them I took on of those guys to a bus station so he can go work with some other friends an get a better job
The owner saying they take more home is because they don’t have to worry about too many expense/business side of things… these men will live off of $50 a week just to send the rest home to their families.
I think it seasonal. Depends on terrain. Sheep graze mostly in the spring and summer. Plus lambing season is usually spring time. Fall grazing slows. Winter not much if covered in snow. So hay has to be brought in as they might just be close to the ranch. No need for sheepherders as a rancher can do that himself. These sheepherders take them far out into the mountains as such and stay with the herd for months.
They take the sheep up into the mountains usually on federal or state land permits. The sheep are moved down to low lands in winter and fed hay for the winter
These guys work on a contract basis, 1-3 years. Through the H2a program the guys have to return to their home country at the end of their contract to be reevaluated for the next, some choose to go home every year on the longer contracts, others choose to stay to make extra money. Most ranchers rehire the same guys unless they are unhappy with their work and sometimes the workers are deemed a flight risk and cannot return to the US. As for seasons, herders are needed year round. In the spring you have lambing which is labor intensive for everyone(including the boss) especially if the ranch does shed lambing, range lambing is still intensive but it is less physical work. Then you grow your lambs on local pastures, hay, or in the desert(Nevada, Utah, Wyoming,etc), usually in June-July the range allotments will open up (mountain grazing). These allotments close in Aug-Sep sometimes earlier based on range conditions (privatly owned range can graze longer). In the fall ranchers will graze deserts, hayfields, cornstalks, etc. Herders are used at the home place to put up fences or they are with the sheep on the smaller pastures. Herders are needed year round to protect the sheep from predators and to make sure the sheep are where they are supposed to be. As for camp conditions. The camps have to be inspected by the state every 3 years. The camps have the meet state requirements for heating, food, water, laundry, hygiene, overall conditions, etc. And it is true that most sheep herders make more than the boss. H2a herders are payed based on federal minimum wage, and each state has their own set of policies and adjustments that go on top of federal. Ranchers are lucky to breakeven, some ranches are only surviving because they have a wife that works in town.
That wagon must have been inspected by his blind grandfather back in the 60's & saying the herder's make more that him is just a ridiculous statement but they probably pay more income tax than he does!
As a young girl, i worked picking oranges on the farmland, hard work,, however the beauty around the land, I want to go back to,, however the pay is next to nothing.
@@Elkski84 Slaves are owned, not hired. Are sheep worth paying someone $50000 to watch? Maybe you want to do it, or pick vegetables. Huh? You think groceries are expensive now? Do you complain about Chinese wages? Everything you shop for is made by them.
Iberians celts bloodlines but the ones that really are the best is the basque people they did build the sheep company they can spend years alone out there the basque people are the best for loneliness in earth cold weather nobody can match them in reality well they never were conquer in ancient Europe neither plus most of them are o negative blood type .They know more about sheep than their history
The more people I meet the better I like my Dogs. These ranchers don't care, they are in it for the money - the men they hire are disposable. Ranchers care about the money, vacations and new pickups. The rancher interviewed was nervous because he was not telling the whole truth. We see men like these every year in the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming. Beautiful place and solitude is second to none. Hard to live on solitude and scenery.
There is now way that trailer has passed inspection! How the rich benefit from the people who are hungry for work, consumers research how the item you buy is made.
When the boss says “you guys make more than I do” 😂😂😂 get outta here
💀
Trailer is small & cramped & that guy says the workers trailers are fairly comfortable !
Immediately lost creditability
Slavery
Taking advantage of these hard working people
Actually that's true.
Meat are sold wholesale for less than cost of raising the sheep's.
Farmers buys farm inputs cash at retail, plus pay for their own shipping, and sells farm output wholesale, with free shipping.
I shore sheep in Colorado during the 1980s. The sheepherders had the exact same wagons. You would think in 40 years those ranchers would have upgraded the sheepherders a accomodation.
That design of trailer is the exact same as the first ones designed in the early 1900s, sad, I’ve seen a few outfits that treat them right and get them nice newer travel trailers
Shame on you farmers
@martinrodriquez3304 any herder would much prefer to live in a camp with a wood stove. Newer RVs are not legal to have a wood stove.
Greed is a terrible trait to possess
@@MidWestLife2022, they can stay where they came from. The US needs to make welfare recipients do this job. Or prisoners on parole. I'm an ex con, I would have loved that job, my PO sent me to burger king.
I doubt the workers take more money home than the boss, otherwise it wouldn't be a business.
So disingenuous of him. He'd trade places if it were true.
Biggest lie I’ve heard ina while
yup the boss is full of it, but that's why the legal immigrants don't have jobs. living in that little trailer as an employee..... Why would a legal immigrant put up with those conditions. not cool time to close the border.
The boss is referring to the cost of living and exchange rate when talking about more “take home pay”. I used to remodel homes with Mexicans that would moneygram their money back home (Mexico) They’d talk about $50,000 like it was their retirement goal. $50,000 is a whole LOT more in Mexico, Honduras or Venezuela than it is in the United States. That’s what he’s referring to..
@Ap_twsh they are definitely legal.
I bet those little fiberglass trailers are cold as heck when that Colorado wind is blowing through there in the blizzards of winter. Holy cow! In this day and age still taking advantage of these poor people is a shame.
I was just thinking that... no skirt around the bottom of that thing either. Must feel like a leaf in the wind in there
Better than their life in South America… it’s not easy but for them it’s worth it.
@@danii9368the boss can at least provide a decent camper. That is straight abuse.
You mean how cartel used people . And expect USA to give them a job . To pay off the shark loan of 10 k ! For each person 😂 so are we the one provided to the cartels 😂 human trafficking and smuggling. (Is not against most state laws )
Some of the wagons are made of canvas just like an antique tent.
I’m an American Indian from Arizona. I grew up with sheep and miss it very much. as I grow older I yearn for the adventure. Yes being outdoors is incredible. I know what these guys mean when they say it’s a tough job, especially when your employer does’t take care of you.
The herder in this video looks kinda native
I was a 35 year old woman who took a job as a sheepherder in Montana---this was exactly my life. Toughest job I've ever done---lonely and exhausting. My dogs and horse were everything. Work was 24/7. I had no phone or ability to communicate with the rancher, but he came every 2 weeks with provisions. I kept a journal of those days (20+ years ago) and can't believe some of the beauty I was able to witness, but pretty much nothing has changed as far as accommodations/pay.
Growing up in the early 1970s, (as a 7 yo) I witnessed firsthand the harsh treatment of Mexican laborers by farm owners. My father, a participant in the US Bracero Program (1960s) worked tirelessly in the fields of Northern California for over 20 years. Despite his dedication, he was ultimately fired for speaking out against the poor working conditions.
Don't believe the farm owner's lies! If they're speaking, they're likely deceiving you. I challenge them to live in the same squalid conditions they subject their workers to. Let them experience the isolation and hardships these men face daily. For meager wages.
These laborers endure such harsh conditions only for the love of their families back home. Their sacrifices deserve respect, dignity, and fair treatment.
I bet the boss doesn't live in a tin can like the herders!
How do you think that old man started out
Those trailers are not fit for human habitation.
❤to the woman in this video.Jesus bless u for advocating for these tough brave workers.
The owners should provide these guys with books, journals, art supplies so they can draw, write and more and release the creativity within and help ease some of that loneliness 😢
Lol what ?!
I come from a long line of sheep herders. My Grandfather raised a large family, traveling to herd sheep in Wyoming for over 31 years. He returned every winter to New Mexico and returned in the spring and summer to Wyoming. Most of his children, including my dad followed in his steps. New Mexico had land, beauty, families, but no cash paying jobs. My dad and mom meet in Wyoming and I was born, raised and drafted in Wyoming. Sheep herding is a job that requires an ability to live in solitude, in philosophy, taking caring of vulnerable animals and family. My grandfather spoke little but I learned to love him and respect him for how he lived, a simple but successful man. All of his children did well, most of his grandchildren did well. I obtained a marketing degree, a professional government auditor, my wife a teacher, my daughter is an attorney as an Associate Dictator, my other daughter is a health care director, my grandson and his wife are medical doctors, and my granddaughter is an author of 2 books. My Grandfather could never imagine this future.
His hard work pay off.
He'd be so proud, I'm sure. I love this story.
Greek?
Because of him.
Thank you for sharing
Animal caretakers are highly intelligent. Your dad was I'm sure.
Thanks PBS for showing these people hard work ❤
For contrast purposes we would like to see the farmers house.
Thank you for showing the boss is full of bullshyt
And thank you for showing your ignorance.
@@campland2880We got eyes.
@@campland2880 the truth is not ignorance it is the truth
If they don’t like it, herd their own sheep. Plain and simple bud.
@LarryDanaDavid are we watching the same video buddy? They come searching for a new life.
The bravery of those guys to live in solace just to provide for their families! 💪🏼
Camping isnt brave.
A lot of people go camping for fun.
@@Mike-zw7fq This isn't "camping" you dolt, this is surviving out in the wilderness alone, with sparse resources, for years at a time. Why try and needlessly minimize how difficult it is?
It's completely self-sacrificial to not only take care of the wellbeing of thousands of animals at a time, while completely isolated and alone in a foreign land, but to be willing to bear that hardship solely to provide a better life for your family. That is bravery.
@@Mike-zw7fq Who goes camping for months at a time? Camping is fun. This is not camping. 🙄
It is more fun than brave, I herded for two years, only a city slicker would complain or be amazed, I guess people in 2024 have no clue what living life is really all about
@@Mike-zw7fqsays the kid😂
Those trailers PASS inspection??? Come on dude......
👀 I know right?! 😢
Those little camp wagons are kinda cool. Original tiny home. I have seen many in Colorado. They are well made.
Montrose is a small county and he's 4th generation (John Fields). Easy to pass when inspector is related to you (probably. This is how small town colorado goes)
The other video is from Routt county, which is MFNW colorado, except for Steamboat, is the same as Montrose. Small town government where everyone knows eachother and may be related.
@@amyf8231. To say that they are well made is silly. Some might be, but a lot are built with low cost as the top priority.
The living conditions for the AG workers is about the same. We have gotten to know a Mexican who comes up every year from southern Mexico. He works on a fruit farm here in Michigan picking apples and peaches. His living conditions is like those camp trailers. They aren't allowed to have fans or ac units because it would cost more in electricity which the owner isn't willing to pay. It's just a shack they live in. I gave the guy an electric toaster oven but he can't use it. These shacks are inspected and approved. It's the same living conditions my husband's grandparents provided to their white help in the 1930s. Back then it was common to live in shacks or the basement of the barn. Things haven't changed much in the last 90 years except for the color of the skin of the working people. Something needs to change. Our animals are treated better than the Mexican AG workers in a lot of farms here.
Say adios to your workers bud. I drove truck back and forth from California, Arizona, Texas with produce to Chicago. Mexican farm workers will share their last bean with you, a very caring and hardworking people.
Laken Riley, Jocelyn NUNGARY, Kayla Hamilton.
@@Trapphausmusicyou’re talking about undocumented immigrants. These sheepherders are legal under the H2A program.
@@Trapphausmusic Blame all of them for a few bad apples? You need to get a life!
I guess hes gonna have to find legal labor if they arent legal.
@@stalker7892 you are defending murderers and rapists you loser
Oh please, "these guys probably go home with more money than I do..." I couldn't continue watching after this.
I know all the money goes to cartels ! So yes they have to make more or else ! 😅 cartels knows this already
Amazing documentary and very eye opening, thank you PBS❤
For safety/ emergencies these men need a Satellite phone. I met some of these men in the High country of Idaho. beautiful areas but extreme remote and dangerous.. I hope these men can continue and the ranchers need to bring this system to the 21st century. It's always about the bottom line. I pay high prices for every thing Vegetables, meats and most other crops these people need its worth their commitment. These ranchers and their workers require modern interventions... Respectfully offered...
all new cell phones have free sos satelite emergency text service
What a shame. Smh. PURE Greed and taking advantage of someone..its disgusting. 😥
When the boss said that the trailer are inspected 😂😂
No excuse to not upgrade that "housing" when there are inexpensive, up-to-date RVs and tiny homes with solar hot water etc. available. I live in New Mexico and I know people who got nicer trailers than that for free.
He said he earned $650 a month which equals to roughly $7800 a year in 1990! That amount with inflation is roughly $19K in today’s dollars. I doubt they’re making $19K but let’s assume they are. How much would it cost to treat them humanely? If you Google the average Profit a sheep brings the owner its between $20 and $50 so let’s meet in the middle $20 K divided by $30 it’s roughly 630 sheep it’s costing the owner per year to employ the sheep herder. Again I ask you how much would it cost to treat them humanely? You saw the condition they were living under and how faithful, honorable and appreciative they were to the owner. Would you siting in your home reading this comment stand for this? This is just abuse!
Semper Fi!
@3025kilo..for us who live in 3rd world country that condition still golden for us
Whats your company name?
??? well, then the workers should go back to Mexico because they must pay much better... You do realize their pay goes directly to their pocket ? They provide full food and board.
Semper Fi? Abuse?? Well then, you must know that in 1990 a Marine Private (or Army) was making just shy of 500, and that was a raise after basic and advanced training. . . and those living conditions weren't (arguably) nearly as pleasant. And surely you know that some years are a loss for ranchers, a few are a gain, and most are near to even. Herders have lived like that for ever. That's what a herder does. Maybe you didn't notice the lack of utilities in the area during the summer graze when the sheep push high and wide? Those "tiny homes" (herder's wagon) have been and still are about the only thing that works way up there. . . . Maybe you were thinking these wagons were next to the ranch house for all the summer? And just maybe, life isn't nearly as simple and straightforward as your fascinating perceptions have concluded.
They do this because they know the workers have no rights and they can just ship them back when their bodies are no longer useful. A deplorable system of modern day slavery and Synagogue of Satan types are defending it
This is an important documentary. Thanks! Im a Coloradan and dang if this place doesn’t look beautiful in Summer!❤
🙏🏽 for you hermanos.
Great mini documentary keep it up..
I saw some herdsmen in WY who were from the steeps of Mongolia. Those guys could do and survive anything.
It's spelled steppes.
Maybe we should replace all of America with cheap working Mongolians, certainly better than our loser native stock amiright fellow Jewmerican?
This was a reality for European shepherds too. A shepherd's wagon, a sheep dog or two, sometimes a horse, and nothing but sheep, mountains, and graze as far as they could see. I miss when Natives were the sheep owners and herders. The gov stole and killed hundreds of thousands of their herds before moving them off the land right before and during the Great Depression.
Very truth a very sad😢
I would check your facts sir...sheep were brought to the America by Europeans. Perhaps you are referring to the Bison but sheep are not native to America...Ask the Gauchos down in South America.
those guys are native
@@isaacrivera.coloradowell duh thats probably why he brought it up
I hunted near a bunch of sheep heardsrs this year and the seemed to be happy, they had a truck they were using to get water from a spring near by. Living a hard life that's far sure
this just hurts my heart these guys are some of the best and always get exploited on so many different levels in america
How the heck do you claim to know anything about their backgrounds? It’s a job they signed up for. If they want to negotiate for more amenities then they should.
So sick of the rich entitled white man sentiment that seems so prevalent these days.
Hey PBS, before you delete my comment can we get a follow up of the lives changed with the money these guys sent back to Mexico?
They mostly get exploited back in their homeland. They're doing what they signed up to do. You might look into taking a seasonal job on a ranch sometime. . . I'm guessing your heart will hurt less, and you'll appreciate more.
Yup. Our people are the most wholesome hardest working mfs in the world all to get discriminated against and called wet bags for stuff the cartels in other countries do...racism is powerful and primal
We have five Peruvian shepherds who have worked for us for 15 years in West Texas taking care of 2000 head of sheep. Hardest workers I’ve ever known.
Your avatar makes me ask one question? Why can't Americans do that job? You can let them through the wall if they will work for you, for less than Americans, but everyone else is illegal?
Seems a little hipocritical, doesn't it? "They're taking er jerbsss."
“They are treaded fairly “…. I doubt that
No AC / Heat is borderline criminal geez buy them a freakin portable AC and heater unit cheapo
Most of all I believe the way there speech is they do the job because they love going out there with their heart I’m from Oaxaca n I can relate to them.
I agree. . . and they said as much.
These guys work on a contract basis, 1-3 years. Through the H2a program the guys have to return to their home country at the end of their contract to be reevaluated for the next, some choose to go home every year on the longer contracts, others choose to stay to make extra money. Most ranchers rehire the same guys unless they are unhappy with their work and sometimes the workers are deemed a flight risk and cannot return to the US.
As for seasons, herders are needed year round. In the spring you have lambing which is labor intensive for everyone(including the boss) especially if the ranch does shed lambing, range lambing is still intensive but it is less physical work. Then they grow their lambs on local pastures, hay, or in the desert(Nevada, Utah, Wyoming,etc), usually in June-July the range allotments will open up (mountain grazing). These allotments close in Aug-Sep sometimes earlier based on range conditions (privatly owned range can graze longer). In the fall ranchers will graze deserts, hayfields, cornstalks, etc. Herders are used at the home place to put up fences or they are with the sheep on the smaller pastures. Herders are needed year round to protect the sheep from predators and to make sure the sheep are where they are supposed to be.
As for camp conditions. The camps have to be inspected by the state every 3 years. The camps have the meet state requirements for heating, food, water, laundry, hygiene, overall conditions, etc.
And it is true that most sheep herders make more than the boss. H2a herders are payed based on federal minimum wage, and each state has their own set of policies and adjustments that go on top of federal. Ranchers are lucky to breakeven, some ranches are only surviving because they have a wife that works in town.
The more I hear rich people talk(lie), the ANGRIER I get. It's greed. More for themselves and less for everybody else. Disgusting.
Amazing and talk about ur sobering reality. I’m a trucker. 30 yrs in an 28 states . Flatbed an RGN and tanker . I thought I’d lived a lonely working life Not even close !
When I was doing the Colorado trail there was a segment where I remember seeing a man on top of a hill just looking down at me and my brother. The sheep were roaming across the hill as he was in a higher elevation watching their every move.
Gracias por el excelente reportaje.
Mis respetos para estos muchachos trabajadores. Que vida tan triste 😞 yo tenia a un amigo del Peru 🇵🇪 . Espiritu Inga su nombre lo vicite a su camper y le llebe un costal de papa. Super amigo , pasado el tiempo me llamo desde su pais que alegria recordar momentos 😊 👍
I live in this area and the three kingpin ranchers who I won’t name are some of the shadiest folks around. Lies are all they tell to their workers.
Wow!…you’d actually say you care for your workers with a straight face…
He's convinced himself he does, because he 'treats them better' than Grandpa and Pa did.
I'm guessing your herders are living high on the hog, with amazing accomodations and top pay? Must be nice to be a 1%er in the sheep ranching community. . . . I'm sure he does what he can. Likely barely breaking even. Most years I'm sure he feels lucky to have made it with enough to try for another round. And, guessing his hired hands are glad when he does.
@@campland2880bro stop trying to justify. You’re replying to every single comment. 😂
@@theblacktieguy6694 Not even close to "every sincle comment". But thanks for bumping it along.
I like facts. Most people don't. Facts don't "justify", they clarify. Justification is very subjective. . . . Most of these NPR-following liberals see a man doing some field work and their soft brains can't comprehend it. Up thru the last 25 or so years this is all we ever did. . . and many still do.
Keep punchin' that clock, son. 🙂
Treat the sheepherders well.
They work hard as Shepards an ancient craft!!
Think about it… Your animals are tended by the people you hire and how you treat them Your animals are treated!!
My grandfather was a shepard in CO, I believe in the 50s! This is crazy to see the conditions like this
Gives him 50 per day probably. I won’t even talk about his sad camp wagon…😰😒
shameful living conditions. Unbelievable!!!
It was a sheep herder that was attacked and killed by a black bear near the Durango reservoir a few years back 😪
o well! Bear was there first! May have had a baby! Who knows? Don't blame the bear!
Bear lives matter @@conniewolf7300
@@conniewolf7300 Wow, you knew that bear and the herder? Small world.
@@conniewolf7300 what a piece of 💩 let’s pray nothing tragic happens to one of your family members I hope you don’t expect anyone to feel bad
@@conniewolf7300 bet you'd have a different outlook if it was your brother, father, or uncle. Have some respect.
Great Sunsets
& Sunrises
I wonder if this is the sheep herder that also shepherds the hills in the Yampa area?
Wonder if that boss heard what happened to the CEO of united healthcare
I agree with the guy down there that posted and said he doubts if they take home more money than the owner of the ranch, give me a break.
I did not believe the boss for one second...they could give them better housing for sure!!!❤❤❤
Nice effort - but not without bias.much more complex than can be shown in 10 mins. I grew up in a sheep family in WY. We treated our herders well and fairly. Nearly all do. Like all jobs fair work for pay and respect for employees keep them there. If not, they go elsewhere. A free market economy works. And yes there were some years the herders made more than the owners; some years saw financial losses. But not all years.
They eat poorly
That’s not fair guys straight lying he’s boss is abusing them
You must've had dinner with them and talked to them at length.
Looked like they were well-fed to me.
@@campland2880heartless and soulless
my Gram lived to 106; she herded sheep all her life
I see these sheepherders in Wyoming also. They still live in the little wagon campers.
Pretty grubby living conditions ! Very basic, & they need decent warm heating
Used in summer but those sheep camps have a wood stove that gets very warm
@@amyf8231 Yes, most of it is summer so, what about air conditioning? I would bet it is very hot in those "campers". Also, it is high altitude and not just summer. It gets very cold at the higher elevations. Those "campers" look like converted hay wagons. Farm workers have always been exploited, nothing has changed.
@ it’s not hot in the mountains in the summer. I live there. And the camp trailer have wood stoves for heat
@norwalfarm similar wagons have been used for over 100 years. There isn't electricity so there's no reason to have A/C.
I camp in the summer and the trailer has A/C but I don't use it because the batteries can't power it. A water tank that only lasts a few days and a black water tank that has to emptied in an RV dump, neither of those are practical with the shepherding wagon.
@@amyf8231I don’t know what mountains you live in but I lived in Colorado in the mountains for 34 years at 9,100 feet and yes it does get hot up there . Sure it cools off in the evening but it’s still hot during the day . And we all know how well those wood burning stoves work in a herders wagon , you have to stoke them continually and you need to constantly be gathering wood , there not efficient.
That trailer does not look "failrly comfortable." This guy is full of it.
I want to say that for the safety of the horse to please get that hackamore strap off his airway. It hurts hm and is dangerous. Raise it up.
I think I saw this guy, his horse and dogs when doing the great divide ride
I honor those sheepherders. Hard working and really, really underpaid. Those camper trailers look like dog coops. 😢
I have a hard time believing those trailers have been inspected unless it was by Stevie Wonder. They look terrible, and don’t give me the story that it’s probably better than what they had at home. That’s not the point, this man sold a story that isn’t true.
I am ok to give this hard working clean guy to have citizenship. He deserves it.
They have much better sheep wagons these days, some fancy, some more basic, but so much more livable.
Of course, and they cost a lot too. Some were even depicted in this rather lopsided video.
That’s a shack my old man stop lying about how much money they make scamming people
Had no idea there are shepherds in the US. No mention of shearing, dipping etc. Or problems with wolves, coyotes etc Are the sheep for wool/meat/both?
Umm I think they could have a better living quarters.
17 years ago my 1st job was at a farm ,didn’t speak English it all and I was getting pay 1200 a month ,with a RV as a house it was ok I would say ., and every winter guys from Peru would take sheeps over to the alfalfa fields and take care of them…😢
Anyways they were getting pay 800 a month ,only can food ,if they wanted chocolate ,candies ,chips,and stuff like that it would be discontinued so 😢 for them
I took on of those guys to a bus station so he can go work with some other friends an get a better job
That boss wouldn’t step foot in the trash he calls a trailer. Pathetic.
AWESOME 👌
Listen to what the guy says we need to be here we need to work we need to do whatever they need us to do......
The owner saying they take more home is because they don’t have to worry about too many expense/business side of things… these men will live off of $50 a week just to send the rest home to their families.
The boss being so defensive right off the bat was interesting lol
He said, that he wont cause trouble cause he wants to come back next year.
So, is this job seasonal??? And what months do they work?
I think it seasonal. Depends on terrain. Sheep graze mostly in the spring and summer. Plus lambing season is usually spring time. Fall grazing slows. Winter not much if covered in snow. So hay has to be brought in as they might just be close to the ranch. No need for sheepherders as a rancher can do that himself. These sheepherders take them far out into the mountains as such and stay with the herd for months.
@@Hey_its_Koda ... ok, thanks.
They take the sheep up into the mountains usually on federal or state land permits. The sheep are moved down to low lands in winter and fed hay for the winter
3 feet of snow up there in Winter, maybe more.
These guys work on a contract basis, 1-3 years. Through the H2a program the guys have to return to their home country at the end of their contract to be reevaluated for the next, some choose to go home every year on the longer contracts, others choose to stay to make extra money. Most ranchers rehire the same guys unless they are unhappy with their work and sometimes the workers are deemed a flight risk and cannot return to the US.
As for seasons, herders are needed year round. In the spring you have lambing which is labor intensive for everyone(including the boss) especially if the ranch does shed lambing, range lambing is still intensive but it is less physical work. Then you grow your lambs on local pastures, hay, or in the desert(Nevada, Utah, Wyoming,etc), usually in June-July the range allotments will open up (mountain grazing). These allotments close in Aug-Sep sometimes earlier based on range conditions (privatly owned range can graze longer). In the fall ranchers will graze deserts, hayfields, cornstalks, etc. Herders are used at the home place to put up fences or they are with the sheep on the smaller pastures. Herders are needed year round to protect the sheep from predators and to make sure the sheep are where they are supposed to be.
As for camp conditions. The camps have to be inspected by the state every 3 years. The camps have the meet state requirements for heating, food, water, laundry, hygiene, overall conditions, etc.
And it is true that most sheep herders make more than the boss. H2a herders are payed based on federal minimum wage, and each state has their own set of policies and adjustments that go on top of federal. Ranchers are lucky to breakeven, some ranches are only surviving because they have a wife that works in town.
Hope they do one on the Basque sheep herders of Utah before they all disappear ❤
That is a pretty bad looking trailer you have a lot of money you can definitely give them a way better trailer 😢
That wagon must have been inspected by his blind grandfather back in the 60's & saying the herder's make more that him is just a ridiculous statement but they probably pay more income tax than he does!
As a young girl, i worked picking oranges on the farmland, hard work,, however the beauty around the land, I want to go back to,, however the pay is next to nothing.
Saludos 🖖 hay trabajo para allá.?
digo que talvez pero mucha soledad
They could come to BC in Canada and herd the wild sheep and keep them safe from getting killed on the highways.
How can they be lonely with all those sheep?
0:51 Picture of a real Cowboy.
So Broke Back mountain could possibly be a true story…
Those Trailers Are BS Come On Now
SI, se PUEDE!!!
Lay off the donuts brotha
Them little POS trailers is treated fairly SMH 😞
The living conditions are deplorable. Disgusting. And you say you're up to speed on the regulations? Doubtful. Do better!
That's chattel slavery by another name. Not even close to Jim Crow. F. T.
The "benevolent" benefactor act by the Sheep Assoc....yuck!
Certain people want to throw these people out of the country, with no one to take their jobs.
Certain people want slaves they dont want to pay an honest livable American wage
@@Elkski84 Slaves are owned, not hired. Are sheep worth paying someone $50000 to watch? Maybe you want to do it, or pick vegetables. Huh? You think groceries are expensive now? Do you complain about Chinese wages? Everything you shop for is made by them.
@Elkski84 they tried. Most Americans born after 2000 are useless garbagee I would hire an immigrant in a second over anyone from gen Z or alpha
Exactly, @@Elkski84that was the same argument the southern states argued to keep slaves
Dang looks like home to me.
What matters is if he came here legally or not.
Tiene acento dl español muy parecido alos rarámuri d aqui d Chihuahua
puedes hacer mas dinero si pones un canal en el youtube, un canal de tu vida alli en las montanas.
Iberians celts bloodlines but the ones that really are the best is the basque people they did build the sheep company they can spend years alone out there the basque people are the best for loneliness in earth cold weather nobody can match them in reality well they never were conquer in ancient Europe neither plus most of them are o negative blood type .They know more about sheep than their history
This rancher has no shame. Such poor living conditions. Even a used Travel trailer would be a dramatic improvement.
The more people I meet the better I like my Dogs.
These ranchers don't care, they are in it for the money - the men they hire are disposable. Ranchers care about the money, vacations and new pickups. The rancher interviewed was nervous because he was not telling the whole truth. We see men like these every year in the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming. Beautiful place and solitude is second to none. Hard to live on solitude and scenery.
They have camping showers I’m sure the employers could provide them at little cost
There is now way that trailer has passed inspection! How the rich benefit from the people who are hungry for work, consumers research how the item you buy is made.