Serious Green: Rent-a-Ruminant to Get a Tough Job Done
Got a lot of land? Need to clean it of brush quickly? Forget the gas-guzzling bush hog or poisonous herbicides. Time for some eco-friendly vegetation management. Goats to the rescue!
In Seattle (where the state of Washington classifies the Himalayan blackberry bush as a Class C noxious weed) Tammy Dunakin's Rent-a-Ruminant team of 100 goats work as professional vegetation eradicators.
So what's so great about goats? (Besides the fact that cheese made from their milk is so tasty, of course)?
There are very few plants that goats will not eat. They've got four-chambered stomachs and are ready and willing to chow down on all types of invasive species, including ivy, nettle, holly, morning glory, knot weed, and scotch broom plants—but they'll still leave behind the good stuff, like woody growth.
Before Goats [Photograph: Rent-a-Ruminant LLC]
Goats have a low impact on the environment and their sturdy hooves help them reach uneven places that machinery can't.
They are also fast and cost effective. 60 goats can eat about 1/4 acre (10,000 sq feet) in about 3-5 days. Unlike with heavy machinery, permits are not needed for goats to clear land. Instead of clearing land and then hauling the debris away, goats take care of it all on site. Rates for Dunakin's goats start at $725 per day.
Plus, goats bring free fertilizer with them wherever they go.
After Goats [Photograph: Rent-a-Ruminant LLC]
Check this national database to see if goats are available for hire in your area: Livestock for Landscapes
Goat Cheese Recipes:
Zucchini, Mushroom, and Goat Cheese Tart
Goat Cheese Bread Pudding
Goat Cheese Tart with Pears
Related:
Serious Green: Turn Your Lawn Into an Edible Garden
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16 Comments:
i find this totally fascinating. what an ingenious business idea. why in hell didn't i think of it first?
french tart at 2:54PM on 10/27/09
Little surprised you didn't mention how great goat tastes.
Google uses goats to clear the acreage they have at their Mountain View headquarters.
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/mowing-with-goats.html
Sekkyo at 3:24PM on 10/27/09
Why would you want a goat to clear Morning Glory? It's one of my all time favorite street Thai dishes... pad boom fai dang (fried morning glory).
Paul
accidentalepicurean at 3:29PM on 10/27/09
This video shows how a "fleet" of goats obliterates all weedy goodness in their path: http://www.greenwala.com/community/videos/all/404-Who-Needs-A-Lawn-Mower-Just-Rent-A-Goat
sfinfgeld at 3:31PM on 10/27/09
My wife was raised on a farm, and she grew up drinking goat's milk. Problem was, there was a lot of wild garlic around, so her cereal tasted a bit odd.
NotAmerican at 3:55PM on 10/27/09
I think it is the young goats that are good eating, not the old kudzu chewing ones.
redfish at 3:58PM on 10/27/09
I live in Seattle, and people definitely do this - a guy down the street from me is now forever tagged in my memory as "goat-renter dude."
GirlFromJetCity at 3:59PM on 10/27/09
Real (Wo)Men of Genius!
@accidentalepicurean, In western WA, my real morning glories (I grow blue morning glories on purpose--they are an annual that must be planted every year from seed) have to compete for food and water and sun with a wild type that is a perennial that will take over an entire house and the people in it if they move too slowly. They are really tough to get rid of, they grow up and around and through sidewalks, trees, shrubs, flowers and vegetables and they are really, really hard to get rid of. If they were edible like nasturtiums, we could cure famine.
betteirene at 4:32PM on 10/27/09
isn't Maryland using goat to mow state properties? I heard about this somewhere...
hmw0029 at 4:47PM on 10/27/09
"Rent-a-ruminant" services have been around for some time down here in Santa Barbara. The goats are a perfect choice for helping clear the steep, extremely fire prone hillsides. The goats were heroes for many, as their work prevented many houses from being burned. Is there anything a goat can't do?
Burger365 at 5:25PM on 10/27/09
@accidentalepicurean When you have had Morning Glory take over your garden, house and your soul maybe you will change your mind.
I just love this! Coolest business ever!!
finsbigfan at 6:08PM on 10/27/09
I HEART goats...I would laugh all the time if we had so many goats around. I am going to make an appointment with the headmaster tomorrow and see if we could get a herd of goats to munch the quad. Going to go to bed smiling thinking of silly goats!!
PoorOldMama at 8:32PM on 10/27/09
Brilliant. When I was in Calcutta, we saw goats eating everything, including plastic bottles and the disposable terra cotta cups everyone used for chai (in place of paper/plastic/foam cups). If you weren't paying attention, they would nibble holes in your clothes too.
Wan Yan Ling at 10:15PM on 10/27/09
@accidentalepicurean: There are many types of Morning Glory. I am not familiar with pad boom fai dang, but if it is made with what I know as Water Morning Glory, also known as Water Spinach (and, I think, Rau Muong in Vietnamese), I'd love the dish. I'm no botanist, but I suspect that Water Morning Glory, which I believe is a more or less aquatic plant, is not the same thing as the Morning Glories with the pretty flowers that we see frequently in N. America and which goats apparently will take pleasure in eating.
Lorenzo at 10:17PM on 10/27/09
@accidentalepicurean: Lorenzo and others are correct, the morning glory used in Thai cooking is related to the plant that chokes European and North American gardens, but it is not the same thing. SE Asian morning glory grows in marshes: http://www.simply-thai.com/Thai-Market_Thai_Vegetables_Water_Spinach.htm
KatherineSpiers at 11:12PM on 10/27/09
Why no mention of the other "good stuff" they leave behind? That has value as well.
browngravy at 12:10PM on 10/28/09