Goat Grazing

 

How can our goats help?

For the past several years, the Greeley resident has been the face behind Homestead Ranch — a service that uses goats rather than herbicides or heavy machinery to control invasive plants. Goats are like a Swiss Army knife for weed mitigation. They are browsers and efficient against a wide variety of vegetation. They disturb the overburden that builds up from year to year like a tiller, and they fertilize as they go.

Goats also work especially well in places where tractors or chemicals might not fit well, such as on rough terrain around reservoirs, near parks and rivers, and other specialty areas. Other benefits are the smaller carbon footprint and the reduction of chemicals needed for herbicide treatments. Goat grazing is a lot more than just putting up fences and letting goats eat.

A successful project means identifying the restoration or management plan for a piece of land and then finding the best ways to use all the tools available, including goats, to accomplish that goal. There’s a lot of science that goes into each project before goats ever enter the property, including an extensive walkthrough of the property and planning.

 

  • Goat herding itself requires a good fence, plenty of patience and flexibility, and happy goats. You can plan all you want, but sometimes the weather or situation changes, and you have to throw the plan out the window. A happy goat makes everything on a project easier and less stressful, and it’s important that the goats we use have the proper temperament. There is a saying that if you can pour water through a fence, a goat will find a way through. In order to control the goats on grazing sites, I use an electric netting-style fence and a portable solar charger, and I also use a more visible barrier when working near trails or public areas to help prevent people and dogs from accidentally coming into contact with the electric fence.

    • 2-3 years of 60% improvement over that time span with no regrowth

    • We are available seasonally from April to October

  • The price depends on variability to each site and is based on a walk through bid or zoom meeting.