Posted on 06/15/2008 10:51:47 AM PDT by Lorianne
Jared Lewis is an engaging 32-year-old with a liberal arts degree, a vast knowledge of weeds and a curious profession. Sometimes he calls himself a "grazing specialist." In fanciful moments, he'll introduce himself as a "modern-day pastoral nomad." In plain English, he'll acknowledge he's a goatherd. As a manager in a San Francisco company called Living Systems Land Management, Lewis oversees a crew of hungry but fickle employees: 600 sheep and 300 goats that are eating the weeds and grass near San Jose's airport radar equipment.
It is the year of weed-snackers rather than weed-whackers. As a way of controlling invasive vegetation and renewing the land, the ancient idea of using sheep and goats is finding renewed favor. In Northern California alone, at least 10 companies compete for the business.
The Living Systems people stress that this is not - repeat, not - mowing. The sheep and goats are not machines. While they're on the job 24 hours a day, they work at their own pace. And sometimes, they leave a stalk or two standing.
"You have to treat the animals as you would human beings," he said. "In the heat, they may want to lie down, chill and drink some water. You can't just say, 'Eat!' "
Munched, not mowed
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
Were I a goat I’d find anything useful to do - even eat weeds in a trailer trash yard - rather than risk being sent to the middle east as part of a humanitarian package.
How very ..... San Francisco ..... if you know what I mean.
Sheep & goats are only a good idea if you sit in an office building all day, or drive by the field where they have been.
Woe be unto he who actually wants to walk in that field.
We lived near a few acres of land the city bought for no discernible purpose, but that is what cities do, and is another story.
Anyway, for the first 15 years we lived there, they would mow the field once or twice a year, and the field was used by numerous nearby residents. We could take or labs out there & they would spend hours running after whatever we threw for them. The local kids flew kites, played frisbee, and whatever.
The someone got the bright idea of using goats to mow the field, and all citizen usage stopped.
Whatever a goat eats is promptly returned in the form of goat dung, which is small little round goatberries. After the goats had been there, the field was literally carpeted with a 1-2” layer of goatberries. These would smell for a while and then dry out in the summer heat. It was like walking on a layer of marbles. Disgusting little marbles.
The kids stayed away, we stayed away, not one went there any more.
The goatberries would stay until the winter rains came, when the water would reconstitute them as a layer of mushy goat dung.
Essentially a neighborhood asset became a manure pit. But the powers in charge drove by & thought it was “ecologically sound”.
I have been outdoor-oriented all my life and have never seen a natural occurrence of several inches of animal dung 1-2” thick spread over several acres.
If there was that much poop, there were too many animals left on the land too long. And they should have used sheepies instead of goats. Goats are more browsers. They'd be excellent for flash grazing (overstocking but moving away after, say, 48 hours, 72 max) an area with weeds and a little woody stuff coming in. But sheep would crop the grass nicely if managed correctly.
People would often ask about the advisability of buying sheep to keep their lawns down. They're overlooking the way grass grows. In the east, if you have enough sheep to stay ahead of the grass in the Spring, you have way too many for the rest of the summer.
Of course you are right, and I knew that too.
The problem is that is always what happens when free enterprise meets liberal politicians.
The politicians wanted the field "mowed" in the shortest time at the lowest cost, so they hired someone who trucked in a completely non-sustainable number of goats right after the grass & weeds had achieved their maximum growth. That way, one grazing period of a week or so reduced all of the grass to goat poop.
That way, the politicians look good, the newspaper reporters, whose shoes have never touched anything other than carpet indoors and concrete outdoors, gushed glowing reports, and anyone who wanted to actually used the land was shafted.
My brother bought an abandoned farm with about 7-10 years trees/vines. He bought two goats and everyday would manually cut brush and the goats would strip it then he’d burn the sticks/stems. Good in theory but slow in practice. After a year he bought a bush hog and the goats are now pets.
Yep. That’s a lot to ask of two goats. I would think more goats on 3-4 years (around here in Central VA) of scrub would be the way to go. Turn ‘em out October to March. Let them get their fiber needs met from the scrub, supplement with grain and mineral, and then bush hog as soon as you can get in in April or May. That’d be pretty slick.
But livestock aren’t foresters.
I take it you've farmed some? It's not that I was any good. I quit because I realized I could sit around the house drinking beer and lose less money. But I won't soon forget the problem of explaining farming to people who don't farm. They always have some slick scheme that works fine except for the reality part.
The only way you can get an inch of goat crap is to confine them to a small area and truck in food for an extended period of time. Properly used, goat and sheep pasture stays clean and has no odor. Even cattle pasture is not messy after the initial pies dry out. If you just turn any animal into an area of natural growth, they will eat it all and starve to death long before they carpet it with manure.
Ping for general interest.
We need a goat.
TheMom loves goats.
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