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.
Private landowners may have less ability to pay for leasing a herd. For them, it may make more sense to have a few animals of their own and pen them in problem areas. People who want to do this should know the basics of goat care and be familiar with plants that can cause illness or even death. Animals will generally avoid poisonous plants unless forage is sparse or limited.
Many invasive species are not that troublesome. Queen Anne's Lace and Ox-eye Daisies are pretty in fallow fields, and Dame's Rocket is eye-catching when it blooms on roadside banks. Honeysuckle and multiflora rose perfume the summer air. It's when these plants begin to crowd out native species or take over the countryside that people begin to think enough is enough.
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.
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.
Private landowners may have less ability to pay for leasing a herd. For them, it may make more sense to have a few animals of their own and pen them in problem areas. People who want to do this should know the basics of goat care and be familiar with plants that can cause illness or even death. Animals will generally avoid poisonous plants unless forage is sparse or limited.
Many invasive species are not that troublesome. Queen Anne's Lace and Ox-eye Daisies are pretty in fallow fields, and Dame's Rocket is eye-catching when it blooms on roadside banks. Honeysuckle and multiflora rose perfume the summer air. It's when these plants begin to crowd out native species or take over the countryside that people begin to think enough is enough.
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.
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.
About the Author:
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment