How does the saying go? Only you can prevent forest fires, or only goats can prevent forest fires? You’ll understand the confusion when you meet the Bay Area’s latest fire prevention crews: goats.
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California is facing a forecast for what may be the worst fire season ever, thanks to drought conditions and a large buildup of tinder. Fire management professionals are working ahead of time to try to clear brush, high grass and other fire hazards, in the hopes of reducing the spread of the inevitable wildfires that are already streaking across the state.
When it comes to brush clearance crews, it can be tough to find someone willing to do the job. It’s backbreaking labor conducted in the hot sun, and it takes hours to make a dent in overgrown shrubs and brush, which are often filled with tangles of thorns and other unpleasant surprises. Brush
clearance can get extremely expensive, and it requires constant maintenance.
That’s one reason why people have been turning to rental goats to clear brush and keep areas like road verges, medians and hillsides trimmed. Farmers maintain herds who can be rented out for a reasonable fee to come by for a day, a week, or even longer to clear an area and maintain it. Goats can tackle not just weeds and grass, but also small trees and woody shrubs, and they eat pretty much indiscriminately, clearing an area evenly as well.
It’s a good deal for you if you need an area cleared, and it’s a good deal for the farmer, who saves on fodder (a growing cost in California in particular thanks to a drought-induced hay shortage) and gets to pocket the rental fee. Plus, it’s good for the environment, because unlike gasoline-powered yard tools, goats don’t produce (much) pollution.
But, it turns out, rental goats are good for more than just clearing the backyard or keeping a corporate campus mowed the green way. They’re also chomping through wildfire fuel, which is something that fire management officials and fire-conscious property owners have realized this year.
Goats can clear land quickly, cleanly and easily, so they’re a great choice for fire management. In fact, the demand for rental goats in California is so high that the state is actually facing a shortage, with some operators saying they could easily double their herds and still have trouble meeting demand.
Continue reading at ENN affiliate, Care2.
Goat image via Shutterstock.
