Weed Eaters: Goats who Earn their Keep

I recently stumbled across a website for people in the Northwest who leases there goats out for weed control. I had heard, or herd (heh, heh) of this before when I was doing conservation work, but forgotten all about it.

Jeepers! This is a way I could let my goats earn their own living while organically removing weeds. In our area, they are great for eating knapweed, yellow toadflax, and other pesky plants. The tamarisk and cheatgrass are a bit more problematic (tamarisk is more an unpalatable evergreen and cheatgrass will eventually wear a ruminant's teeth down due to the high silica content).

There are certainly pros and cons (as adequately outlined in this article), but with proper supervision, insurance, and site inspection beforehand, goats can be a great benefit to native ecosystems by giving them a chance to reestablish.