The Latest in Eco-Friendly Lawn Care – Goats?

Ride on lawnmower?  Photo by olsongirl via Flickr
Ride on lawnmower? Photo by olsongirl via Flickr

Eco-friendly lawn care is an important part of a sustainable future and there are dozens of options out there, but … goats? There are some with more potential than others but we have seen such examples as human powered lawnmowers, solar electric robotic lawnmowers, and even propane powered lawnmowers:

But what about goats?

Hiring 100 goats for the job of clearing an LA hillside was half the price of employing the labor of humans and is much more eco-friendly than gas-powered lawn tools. The goats may also be more reliable and more productive than their human counterparts – not to mention more fun to watch!  A herd of 50 goats can clear about 2,000 square feet per day.

Would you hire goats to do your yard work? Photo by Robin.elaine via Flickr
Would you hire goats to do your yard work? Photo by Robin.elaine via Flickr

It seems a lot of people are considering the eco-friendliness of goats over traditional lawnmowers – ‘goats for hire’ services are popping up across the nation!  If you don’t want to buy your own goats, there may be a company that rents goats in your area:

Akyla Farms in LaConner, WA not only specialize in free-range organic meats – they offer the services of Fiberfest and his herd.  The team of goats, supervised by Fiberfest the llama, provide custom clearing work that doesn’t harm the environment.

Santa Barbara County residents can hire a herd of goats managed by dogs from Brush Goats 4 Hire.

Photo Courtesy BrushGoats4Hire.com
Photo Courtesy BrushGoats4Hire.com

Colorado residents in the Pacific Coast and Rocky Mountain areas can request the services of Wooly Weeders.  These goats have been serving the landscaping needs of the finest Napa Valley vineyards for years.

In the Tacoma Area, Goat Trimmers handle all types of brush jobs.

Charlottesville, VA homeowners call on Goat Busters to knock out their weed problems in an eco-friendly way.

Finding goats for rent is still not an easy task – especially for east coast residents.  Check your local Craig’s List or your newspaper classifieds for possibilities.  You can also call around to farmers and goat breeders if there are any nearby.

What are your thoughts on goats for lawn care, clearing, and weed management?  Do you know of any companies in your area renting goats?  Leave a comment and let us know!

11 thoughts on “The Latest in Eco-Friendly Lawn Care – Goats?”

  1. Hi, this is Scott Wilcox owner of Goat Buster i just wanted to say thank you for mentioning us in your article. It is nice to know their are other like minded people out there.

  2. I'm waiting for WalMart to sell me a propane conversion kit for my gas lawn mower! Gasoline stinks, and we import it from unhappy countries! We have our own natural gas, and propane, so if we all converted, the air would be cleaner, our trade imbalance improved, our lungs would suffer less, and terrorists would be deprived of money! this is a win, win, win, win for America and needs to be advertised as such, Bravo!

  3. “we import it from unhappy countries”

    Well, according to this web page (http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/da…), most of the oil the USofA imports is from Canada. A quick poll in my dining room seems to indicate that most of us are relatively happy. The after effects of a wonderful dinner for eight and vapourized BCBud may create some slant in this post but our only real concern was how much “dirty” oil you import. Yes, tar sands. Please stop it……..

  4. I loved especially the grass cutting bicycle to be honest. The only problems is that in this country we seldom have large lands to actually be able to use something like this. I am one of the few people having a farm and since my land is huge I usually do the cutting grass job with an Used Tractor. But I think I could try that bicycle for fun too.

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