We once again have goats lending a hoof with our invasive plant removal needs and could not be more excited! Goats are an excellent way to manage land and have been doing it for centuries. Besides being adorable, they can fit in places that are hard for humans and heavy equipment to access, they are low maintenance (just fresh water, shade, and occasional treats), they fertilize as they go, and they aerate your soil.
While livestock are known to devour vegetation goats stand out because they will chow down on plants that other animals ignore. They love to eat: multiflora rose, bittersweet, sumac, Japanese knotweed, English ivy, garlic mustard, dandelion, kudzu, ailanthus, Japanese honeysuckle, and mile-a-minute.
Goats have been used by many local and state agencies and are regularly employeed at major airports and businesses as well. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Forest Service have all had goats help out on their lands.
A few fun facts:
- Goats will graze all day.
- It takes approximatly seven goats one week to eat ½ an acre of vegitation.
- Goats will reach plants up to 5'-6' off the ground.
- Due to the shape of their mouths and teeth they crush everything they injest. This means that most seeds are not able to grow after passing through and therefore there is less chance for the plan to reseed.
- Goat manure is odorless.
To learn more about the goats who lend us a hoof every now and again, visit Scapegoats: www.ecoscapegoats.com