Hiring help and hauling cattle
Two federal rules ranchers ask about: the minimum pay for H-2A ranch hands, and driving-hour limits when you haul cattle.
H-2A minimum pay (AEWR), 2026–27
If you hire through the H-2A visa program, you must offer and pay at least this hourly rate to H-2A workers and to U.S. workers doing the same job. The Labor Department sets it for each state and two skill levels: Skill Level I for entry-level jobs with no training needed, Skill Level II for jobs that need an experienced hand.
| Field and livestock workers | U.S. workers Skill I | U.S. workers Skill II | H-2A workers Skill I | H-2A workers Skill II | In effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | $12.27 | $16.24 | $10.40 | $14.37 | Aug 17, 2026 |
| Oklahoma | $11.88 | $16.66 | $10.59 | $15.37 | Aug 17, 2026 |
| Kansas | $15.18 | $19.71 | $13.86 | $18.39 | Aug 17, 2026 |
| New Mexico | $12.35 | $15.96 | $10.78 | $14.39 | Aug 3, 2026 |
H-2A rates are the U.S. rate minus a housing adjustment (Texas $1.87, Oklahoma $1.29, Kansas $1.32, New Mexico $1.57 an hour) that applies only to H-2A workers you house for free. Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas started two weeks later because of a court order (Kansas v. U.S. Dep't of Labor).
Range jobs (herding on open range) use a monthly rate instead: $2,132.41 a month in every state, in effect Feb 3, 2026.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, OFLC 2026–2027 AEWR table and the Federal Register notice, 91 FR 48946 (Aug 3, 2026); range rate from the DOL FLAG AEWR page. As of Aug 3, 2026. Checked Oct 18, 2026.
Hauling cattle: driving-hour limits
- Near the start and near the end, no hour limits. Federal hours-of-service rules don't apply within 150 air miles of where the cattle were loaded (your ranch or a sale barn counts) or within 150 air miles of where they're delivered.
- Only the middle counts. On a longer haul, the usual limits (11 hours driving in a 14-hour day, for trucks hauling property) apply only between those two circles. Time inside them doesn't count toward the limits.
- No electronic log (ELD) needed for livestock, for now. Congress keeps that exemption in place until further notice, and you don't need to carry any paper about it.
- Your own truck, your own cattle: a ranch truck hauling your cattle or supplies may count as a "covered farm vehicle," which is exempt from the hour rules. It has conditions (farm plates, who drives, distance), so check them.
Information only, not legal advice. Rules for a commercial driver's license, weight and animal welfare still apply.
Sources: 49 CFR 395.1(k)(4) (livestock 150 air-mile rule, start and end of the trip, since Nov 15, 2021); 49 CFR 395.3 (hour limits); FMCSA agricultural commodity guidance, livestock haulers and ELDs and agriculture exemptions (covered farm vehicles, 49 CFR 395.1(s)). Checked Oct 18, 2026.