HAVE GOATS--WILL TRAVEL e-mail: ewe4icbenz@aol.com
phone: (307) 654-7866
Some people call her the "goat lady" others call her the "weed lady". They are both right. They are talking about an attractive, blond, ranch-raised, young woman from Wyoming who in l998 launched a unique new business. She contracts with private landowners and governmental agencies to control weeds, clear overgrown weedy and brushy land, and revegetate with grasses using controlled foraging by managed goat herds. Her name is Lani (Benz) Lamming, Mrs. Fred Lamming of Alpine, Wyo.
Don't laugh! This is serious business meeting a serious need and this young woman is attracting serious attention nationwide.
Noxious weeds introduced onto this continent from Eur-asia in the mid l800s have become a major problem for farmers, ranchers, orchardists, recreational areas, resorts , campgrounds, landowners, real estate property managers and government agencies responsible for land management on local, state and national lands.
Land where noxious weeds have become established and spread loses value and productivity every year as weeds crowd out crops, grasses and other desirable plant species. It is also a public nuisance since uncontrolled weeds invade neighboring lands. State laws require land owners and managers to control noxious weeds or to pay the state or county to do the job. Noxious weed control is difficult, expensive, time consuming and sometimes downright impossible in some sensitive or difficult areas. It is a major headache.
Chemical herbicides, defoliants, and soil sterilants have been the
traditional means used to control weeds through spraying by hand, ground spraying or aerial application. Chemicals have negative impacts on the ground and surface water and on desirable plants species in the target area and the surrounding area. These same chemicals also affect the soil's ability to absorb water and release nutrients to the plant roots.
Chemicals can also be a hazard to the life and health of birds, fish, wildlife and people. In the case of some deep rooted perennial weeds, mowing and spraying actually stimulate root growth and the growth of new shoots. After spraying or mowing, some weeds propagate more. Some chemicals sterilize the ground for several years, preventing all plant growth. There needs to be a better means for controlling weeds!
Goats like weeds. They are browsers, not grazers. They eat thorny, spiny, bitter, poisonous, toxic weeds including noxious weeds, brushy weeds and weed trees in preference to grass, clover and alfalfa.
Goats nip off the flower buds and leaves of stemy, deep-rooted perennial weeds so that they don't go to seed. They strip the bark and eat the branches of brush and weed trees and eat wild vines like spaghetti.
Without leaves the plant can't synthesize food so the roots weaken and starve. Goats leave the stems still standing so the plant is not stimulated to send out more roots and shoots as happens with mowing and spraying which kills or removes the stalks.
In contrast to herbicides and soil sterilants which have a negative affect on soil fertility and water absorption, goats loosen the soil with their hoof action increasing the soil's ability to absorb water. Their manure forms little organic fertilizer pellets which are widely scattered. Even the goat's urine is beneficial.
When the goats finish foraging an area, grasses and desired plant species thrive. Since they are not competing with the weeds for space, sun, moisture and soil nutrients and the goats have softened and fertilized the area, the grasses and desired plants soon gain dominance.
Goats can also be used to revegetate the land by carrying "back packs" containing grass seed or other types of seed. As they forage, the seed trickles from the back pack and their hoof action tamps the seed into the soil which they have softened and fertilized . Seeding can also be done by broadcasting by hand with the goats doing the rest of the job.
When using goats for foraging and reseeding in the fall, the seed and seed bed are made ready for the snowfall and spring melt, creating the most beneficial environment for early germination and growth of the desired species in the spring.
Controlled foraging of target areas in early summer to prevent seeding and restrict plant growth, and again in the fall to remove plant cover for a period of two years is expected to limit the weeds so severely that grasses and desirable plants are able to take dominance of the area.
The use of goats for weed control creates a new use and a greater value for one of the oldest and most undervalued agricultural products. Very importantly, it is a means to solve one of agriculture's most serious problems in an environmentally and user-friendly way that promotes life, not death.
The unique concept of controlling weeds through the use of large goat herds and controlled foraging is the brain child of Lani Lamming. It is a concept coming at the right time in our nation and being developed in the right place
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