Sometimes, a news headline can’t get any more perfect. And the story itself is pretty good, too.
Most important thing learned: There is a company, honest to God, called Goats-R-Us.
Sometimes it really, really pays to read the news!
When my husband was stationed in Cuba 20-some years ago, they used goats to keep the grass under control in a “no-man’s land” stretch between American and Cuban territory. One of the jobs of the watchstander was to count the goats. Apparently, some of the Jamaican civilians who worked on base enjoyed goat for dinner.
I’d like to have a goat - I hate mowing the grass…
There was an article in the Chicago Tribune a while back about a company here that did this around petroleum storage tanks. They had (IIRC) goats and llamas that would eat the vegetation; it was safer than using mowers around the tanks (fear of sparks), and the llamas doubled as night watchmen - apparently more than once, prowlers had been scared off by the curious llamas, who would come right up to any disturbances that they spotted in an attempt to see what was going on.
Oh my God. That’s so awesome. An unexpected, curious llama would probably freak me out, too, even in broad daylight.
I really think the whole idea of using goats as mowers is brilliant. They’re voracious, friendly and easier on the environment than chemicals or machinery, and watching (goat) kids play is always a kick, so they get cuteness points, too.
Eating grass isn’t the half of it. The critters also adore weeds, so we can get rid of roadside weeds without spraying herbicides.
Caltrans has also had some successful experiments with using them on hills where it had been previously hazardous to use regular mowers due to steep slopes.