There's continuing interest in green ways to handle environmental problems. Achieving invasive species control using goats is one method that is growing in popularity. These browsing animals have been used in southern states for decades to keep kudzu vines (excellent livestock feed, which is why it was introduced) from overwhelming the landscape.
In the same way that commercial beekeepers move their busy pollinators from field to field, goat herders are beginning to offer a traveling clearing service. Some herders have small bands of several dozen animals, while others may have 500 or more. Some of these entrepreneurs live with their flock, like nomads of the deserts. They put up temporary fencing as part of the clearing service.
Public enterprises, like road maintenance departments, parks, and landfills, have the budgets to undertake the expense of renting these voracious animals. Areas where underbrush is growing too fast in woodlands, causing a fire hazard, can benefit from the herds, too. The goat does less damage than a bulldozer and is more easily controlled than a burn.
A private landowner may not have the budget for this. The answer might be to acquire a herd and use them to clear problem areas. Once the job is done, the animals can be sold to others with the same sort of problem. Anyone getting livestock should know about basic care and also be aware of plants that can harm grazing animals.
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.
Some of the worst offenders are aquatic plants. Marshes are sensitive areas, and wetlands are very important for wildlife and for watershed protection. Goats aren't much use in standing water, but they will hop from tussock to tussock and quickly reduce the problem to manageable proportions. Native species can be given a chance to recover and re-planting efforts can succeed.
Goats love to browse on tree leaves and think honeysuckle and kudzu are ambrosia. They do a great job on poison ivy, a plant few want to clear by hand. A goat can live on this kind of nuisance plants, although those being prepared for the meat market might need a few months on alfalfa hay before the sale. In warmer areas where the goat can forage year round, it's easier to turn a profit.
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.
In the same way that commercial beekeepers move their busy pollinators from field to field, goat herders are beginning to offer a traveling clearing service. Some herders have small bands of several dozen animals, while others may have 500 or more. Some of these entrepreneurs live with their flock, like nomads of the deserts. They put up temporary fencing as part of the clearing service.
Public enterprises, like road maintenance departments, parks, and landfills, have the budgets to undertake the expense of renting these voracious animals. Areas where underbrush is growing too fast in woodlands, causing a fire hazard, can benefit from the herds, too. The goat does less damage than a bulldozer and is more easily controlled than a burn.
A private landowner may not have the budget for this. The answer might be to acquire a herd and use them to clear problem areas. Once the job is done, the animals can be sold to others with the same sort of problem. Anyone getting livestock should know about basic care and also be aware of plants that can harm grazing animals.
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.
Some of the worst offenders are aquatic plants. Marshes are sensitive areas, and wetlands are very important for wildlife and for watershed protection. Goats aren't much use in standing water, but they will hop from tussock to tussock and quickly reduce the problem to manageable proportions. Native species can be given a chance to recover and re-planting efforts can succeed.
Goats love to browse on tree leaves and think honeysuckle and kudzu are ambrosia. They do a great job on poison ivy, a plant few want to clear by hand. A goat can live on this kind of nuisance plants, although those being prepared for the meat market might need a few months on alfalfa hay before the sale. In warmer areas where the goat can forage year round, it's easier to turn a profit.
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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