http://www.rentaruminant.com/ You can hire these goats to come eat away the weeds and trash trees on your property in areas that are either too hard to do, like slopes, or if you just don't have the inclination to do it yourself.
That sounds like a good idea to me!! You not only get the goats to eat what you can't reach easily but you get free manure into the bargain.
How about that... This is great! I just checked out the before and after photos in the photo galleries. They are really effective.
Oh, please, no goats! I live in Central Texas, and you wouldn't believe what goats can do to decent land. We are in farming country, but some folks insist on having goats which eat the grass down to the roots and turn a pasture into a dustbowl. In the hill country, goats graze and turn a wooded lot into a cactus-infested, eroded wasteland. I know it's overgrazing and putting too many hooves on too little land, but it seems the problem is more prevalent among goat owners than cattlemen. Rant over.
The city of Knoxville has a contract with Natural Land Clearing to use their goats to tackle the Kudzu taking over the rocky landscapes around town. Here is a photo taken at Ft. Dickerson Park. natural land clearing ( photo / image / picture from gfreiherr's Garden )
I think it's like anything else, if it is done responsibly it is better than dousing the problem area with toxic chemicals. Sheep and goats have always been the bane of farmers and ranchers, many range wars occurred in the past because of the overgrazing problem. It's a shame the goat and sheep owners haven't figured out a better way.
My brother has been talking about getting a couple of goats to keep the pasture "mowed". I think it's better to just get a couple of cows. They'll graze until their hearts content... and when their fattened up.... well you know.
