Today green solutions to environmental problems are all the rage, and they often work better than more drastic methods. Invasive species control using goats is one fairly recent innovation (except in the deep south, where the goat has been known as the best kudzu control for decades.) Both public and private landowners are turning to these browsing animals for help with imported plants that want to take over their new world.
Commercial beekeepers lease their hives to growers who need pollinators for their crops. When one crop has finished flowering, the bees are moved to another area. In the same way, goat herders take their herds where the weeds are. The herders put up temporary fencing when needed. Some of these entrepreneurs live like nomads, staying with their goats while they're on the road.
The cost can be high, so often it's a public organization that engages the herd. Landfills, parks, and roadsides may be more easily cleared with animals than with manual labor or heavy equipment, and with far less disturbance to the ground. Firefighters have found that a herd of goats can quickly reduce the amount of underbrush around trees, cutting down the fire hazard. A goat never minds a steep hillside, either.
Private landowners may not be able to afford to lease a herd, but they can own their own. Penning goats in an area to be cleared is relatively simple. The animals don't need much more than the forage they're clearing and they can be sold to meat producers once the project is finished. Those without goat raising experience should learn about basic care and read up on plants that might be poisonous to livestock.
Many of our favorite plants are actually imported and can be invasive. Queen Anne's Lace and daisies are pretty in a field, and Dame's Rocket can be spectacular along a roadside. The scent of honeysuckle and multiflora rose on a summer's night is heavenly. However, many a gardener knows to nip the first honeysuckle vine in the bud and that that pretty flowering hedge rose can take over a neglected area faster than you'd think.
Goats are even being used to reclaim marshes, where exotic species are ruining the habitat of native plants, animals, and fish. A goat doesn't like wading around in water, but the herd will browse on the exposed tussocks and can eliminate as much as 80 percent of undesirable vegetation. This will give the original plants a window of opportunity to come back, or re-planting efforts a chance to succeed.
Controlling brush plants like Autumn or Russian olive, touch-me-not ones like poison ivy, or seemingly indestructible things like honeysuckle and kudzu without the use of herbicides is environmentally desirable. Often a herd owner will have a sideline meat production business to help off-set the expense of buying and keeping the animals. Especially in warmer areas with ample rainfall, where a goat can forage year-round, this can work.
Goats prefer vines, bushes, and weeds over grass pasture. They like a variety of browse, so it may be necessary to confine them to one small area of vegetation at a time if you want a thorough clearing. Being able to clear an area without using herbicides is good for the planet, and the herd can save a lot of human labor, too.
Commercial beekeepers lease their hives to growers who need pollinators for their crops. When one crop has finished flowering, the bees are moved to another area. In the same way, goat herders take their herds where the weeds are. The herders put up temporary fencing when needed. Some of these entrepreneurs live like nomads, staying with their goats while they're on the road.
The cost can be high, so often it's a public organization that engages the herd. Landfills, parks, and roadsides may be more easily cleared with animals than with manual labor or heavy equipment, and with far less disturbance to the ground. Firefighters have found that a herd of goats can quickly reduce the amount of underbrush around trees, cutting down the fire hazard. A goat never minds a steep hillside, either.
Private landowners may not be able to afford to lease a herd, but they can own their own. Penning goats in an area to be cleared is relatively simple. The animals don't need much more than the forage they're clearing and they can be sold to meat producers once the project is finished. Those without goat raising experience should learn about basic care and read up on plants that might be poisonous to livestock.
Many of our favorite plants are actually imported and can be invasive. Queen Anne's Lace and daisies are pretty in a field, and Dame's Rocket can be spectacular along a roadside. The scent of honeysuckle and multiflora rose on a summer's night is heavenly. However, many a gardener knows to nip the first honeysuckle vine in the bud and that that pretty flowering hedge rose can take over a neglected area faster than you'd think.
Goats are even being used to reclaim marshes, where exotic species are ruining the habitat of native plants, animals, and fish. A goat doesn't like wading around in water, but the herd will browse on the exposed tussocks and can eliminate as much as 80 percent of undesirable vegetation. This will give the original plants a window of opportunity to come back, or re-planting efforts a chance to succeed.
Controlling brush plants like Autumn or Russian olive, touch-me-not ones like poison ivy, or seemingly indestructible things like honeysuckle and kudzu without the use of herbicides is environmentally desirable. Often a herd owner will have a sideline meat production business to help off-set the expense of buying and keeping the animals. Especially in warmer areas with ample rainfall, where a goat can forage year-round, this can work.
Goats prefer vines, bushes, and weeds over grass pasture. They like a variety of browse, so it may be necessary to confine them to one small area of vegetation at a time if you want a thorough clearing. Being able to clear an area without using herbicides is good for the planet, and the herd can save a lot of human labor, too.
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Find an overview of the benefits of invasive species control using goats and more info about a reliable goat breeder at http://browsinggreengoats.com today.
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