Using Goats as a Weed Control Tool

Former Secretary of the Interior, Bruce Babbitt, once estimated that the United States spends $5 billion each year in attempts to control invading weeds. In recent years, herbicides and other pesticides have been associated with health risks including acute poisoning, cancer and asthma. There are about 110,000 non-fatal human pesticide poisonings in the U.S. each year. Some pesticides have been linked with rising rates in human health concerns from respiratory difficulties to sterility. Add all this together and it is clear why many people are becoming more cautious about the use of pesticides and herbicides. There is an alternative for weed control – goats.

One goat owner from Oklahoma reports that he turned 200 goats out into a 30-acre area that was 25 percent impenetrable because of thick scrub oak and briars. The remaining 75 percent was overgrazed and was heavily weed infested. He had estimated that it would take three months for the 200 goats to eat all of the brush, briars, and weeds. Surprisingly, he reports that, “Six weeks later, those 30 acres looked like a golf course with a few sticks where the short brush used to be, and not a weed in sight. The goats had made a browse line in the taller brush, too.”

Browse line made by goats. The browse line is beneficial because one can actually see through the lower portion of the brush and find the goats. It also allows sunlight to penetrate, which permits grass to grow under the brush.

Goats are browsers, so they do not enter an area and “mow” it down. Goats will forage in an area for a little while, then go anywhere from 50 feet to a quarter mile before they settle down and eat again. They will pick and choose from among the available forage, but broadleaf plants are their primary favorites. Because of this habit of picking and choosing, goats are able to eat a variety of noxious and semi-poisonous plants because they never ingest any great amount of any one plant at any time. The only exception to this is chokecherry, which they will eat until they are violently ill or dead. Because of their preference for broadleaf plants, goats do not eat many of the grasses, although they will eat the early spring grass for its high protein content prior to kidding. We estimate that goats will eat only about 1 percent of the available grasses in a pasture.

Leafy Spurge

Successful management of leafy spurge is an ongoing process, likely taking from four to seven years to get optimum results. Here on the Peterson Ranch after five years of grazing goats, we found only about a dozen plants in the spring of 2005. Based on their location (along the driveway) we theorize that these seeds were brought in by vehicles or birds.

Like all perennial weeds, the key to the control of leafy spurge is two-fold - Prevent the setting of and spreading of new seeds and causing the plant to exhaust its nutrient resources in the root system. Until the nutrient resources in the root are exhausted, the plant will re-grow from that root system. Because goats will actively seek out spurge and eat it down to the dirt, they accomplish both of these goals.

Successful research has been conducted at several land grant universities, including the University of Colorado and North Dakota State University, using goats as an alternative to or in conjunction with chemical controls. Both found that goats will significantly reduce or eliminate the need for chemical management. In some instances, chemicals were used in the fall after the goats had been removed and the spurge had been allowed to re-grow to a height of 2 to 4 inches.

NDSU recommends using 12 to 16 goats per acre of leafy spurge per month or three to four goats per acre of leafy spurge for four months (growing season). They noted “little utilization of the grass species.” Of course, it is best to monitor and reduce the stocking rate over time as the leafy spurge infestation is reduced. They recommend containment for three to five days before moving the animals to prevent the spread of viable seed. We have not found seed spreading by the goats to be a problem. In fact, research from Australia showed that thistle seeds would not germinate after they had passed through the goats. We have found much the same with spurge seeds.

Thistles


Canada thistle	Musk Thistle

Thistles present many of the same control issues as leafy spurge. Although goats do not prefer thistles as they do spurge, they will eat the flower heads out of the plants in the early spring, thereby stopping the seed setting process, and they will eat the main part of the plant if other broadleaf forage is scarce. Canadian thistles are harder to kill and they may require a secondary management method in addition to grazing by goats.

Cedar Trees

Goats are good news/bad news when it comes to cedar trees and other evergreens. If you value your cedar windbreaks, keep goats out of them, especially in the winter and early spring! For some reason goats absolutely love them at this time of year. The good news about this is that early spring is also the perfect time to turn them into your hay meadows to get rid of all the little volunteer seedlings that spring up. Goats will also forage on larger cedar trees. They will eat all the needles and small limbs as far up as they can reach while standing on their back feet. We have even seen them stand on large, lower branches to increase their reach. Once they eat all the needles, they will start on the bark. This, of course, allows light to penetrate under the trees and helps the grass to come back as well as getting rid of unwanted invasive cedar trees.

Comparison of pastures grazed and ungrazed by goats. Six years ago, when goats were introduced, the pasture on the left was similar to that on the right. Since then, the goats have improved the pasture on the left, while the one on the right has been allowed to grow uncontrolled.

Fencing

Because goats are browsers, they tend to travel more than cattle or horses do in any given day. Here on the Peterson Ranch, we use high-tensile hot wire, 7 strands high as our perimeter fencing. Our interior fencing is also electric, though it is usually 1 to 5 strands. Goats are very smart and will learn rapidly where the fence lines are located. If the fences are hot, the goats will not cross them. However, they will test them periodically, so you need to be very aware of the state of your fencing. We use portable 3-strand poly-wire fencing with solar chargers to keep the goats in an area for more intensive grazing. This works well as long as the goats have ample feed and water in the enclosure.

Goats can also be trained to return to an area at night if your acreage is not too large. If you have an area where the goats can be easily contained at night or for short periods of time, you can train them to return to it each night. Simply feed them a little grain there or keep their salt and mineral tubs in the enclosure. If there is a shelter available, that will also reinforce their desire to return.

Predator Problems

Because of their small size, goats are easy prey for predators. Goats congregate together at night and can do a fair job of protecting themselves if they can back up into an area and protect their hindquarters. However, even a small coyote can easily make off with a young kid. Keeping goats in a safe enclosure (see above) is an option, but if your pastures are large, as they are here, you will need another alternative. The answer for us has been guard dogs. These are dogs that live with the goats. We use Great Pyrenees, but there are other breeds that will guard goats as well. If you have an extensive band of goats, a human herder with stock dogs might be a good option for you.

Conclusion

We have found goats to be a valuable grazing and pasture management tool in our operation, in addition to increasing our bottom line through meat sales. Our ranch is not weed free, but the weeds are at an acceptable level for our operation and are decreasing all the time. As goats require minimal care, we have found that we need only part-time help to monitor them. Of course, they require more watching during kidding season and in the fall during breeding season, but otherwise they are pretty much “hands off” livestock. We work our goats twice a year – once in the early summer to castrate the wethers and tag the new kids and then in the fall to sort off cull nannies and the wethers that are ready for market.

If you have any questions about goats, their role in weed management, fencing or anything else, we’d be glad to talk to you or show you the goats. Just give us a call.

Peterson Buffalo Ranch
HC 73 Box 16
Newport NE 68759-9727
Phone: 402-244-5300