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.
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.
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.
People may not realize that some of their favorite plants can be invasive exotics. Queen Anne's Lace and daisies look pretty, as does Dames Rocket. Honeysuckle perfumes the summer air, and multiflora rose makes attractive mounds of sweet-scented flowers. It's when these plants get out of control, like those pretty purple thistles, that problems arise. The imports can crowd out native species, interfere with crops, and encroach on cleared land.
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.
If you need to get rid of vines, brush, or weeds, remember that a goat prefers these to grass. You may need to confine the herd to the problem area, since a goat likes variety and will stray if allowed. They are very, very good at controlling even the most vigorous plants that are in your way.
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.
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.
People may not realize that some of their favorite plants can be invasive exotics. Queen Anne's Lace and daisies look pretty, as does Dames Rocket. Honeysuckle perfumes the summer air, and multiflora rose makes attractive mounds of sweet-scented flowers. It's when these plants get out of control, like those pretty purple thistles, that problems arise. The imports can crowd out native species, interfere with crops, and encroach on cleared land.
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.
If you need to get rid of vines, brush, or weeds, remember that a goat prefers these to grass. You may need to confine the herd to the problem area, since a goat likes variety and will stray if allowed. They are very, very good at controlling even the most vigorous plants that are in your way.
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