Lauren Cain’s goats spent last week clearing out invasive plants behind Licking Soil and Water Conservation District’s office on Main Street in Newark. Nearly 40 goats napped in the shade on a slope by the road, unbothered by the noise of traffic. At first glance, it looked like they were hardly working.
Cain said they were actually digesting, which is part of the job.
“I always have to warn clients, you're going to see them sleeping a lot and that doesn't mean they're not working, I promise you,” she said.
Cain has been grazing goats for about three years through Goats on the Go, a national network of landscaping goats. She also raises dairy goats at her farm, Find Hope Farm in Granville.
Browsing for invasive plants
The landscaping herd loves to the do the tough job of eating invasive and nuisance plants.
“So, their favorite things ever are multiflora rose, amber honeysuckle, the invasive honeysuckle we have in our forest here, poison ivy, grapevine that chokes out trees,” Cain said.
Goats are ruminants, like cows. Unlike cows, however, goats don’t care much for grass unless they have no other option, Cain said. Goats are also great at digestion. Most of the seeds that they eat are non-viable after digestion. So, they don’t replant the invasive species that they eat.
Invasive species choke out other plants and often aren’t as helpful to wildlife as native plants. Traditional means of managing invasive plants include prescribed burns, herbicides, or good old-fashioned manpower, which often involves the use of machines.
Goats are considered a low-maintenance, eco-friendly alternative.
A new way of thinking about land management
“Other states and other countries have been using goats as a method of managing land for decades,” said Tina Mohn, conservation administrator with Columbus Recreation and Parks.
Mohn said the city is trying goat landscaping in Antrim Park because there’s a steep slope there that’s difficult for people and equipment to navigate.
“But goats are fine with the steepness of the slope. In fact, they welcome that,” Mohn said.
The city expects to spend between $4,000 and $7,000 on the goat grazing. Mohn said that’s cheaper than bringing in a contractor to do the job, which would cost $10,000 to $15,000.
Not running gas-burning equipment lowers the city’s carbon footprint and the goats will leave behind pellets that act as fertilizer for the remaining native plants.
“It's a new way of thinking about land management, and we're really excited,” Mohn said.
The Goats of Antrim Park
The goats will work on the south side of Antrim Park, staying on site 24 hours a day for about four to six weeks, likely starting in June. They will graze a small area until they’ve gotten most of the invasive plants, then move to the next spot. Mohn said part of the park’s round track will be closed while the goats are there.
Central Ohio actually has three teams of landscaping goats that each service a specific area. Antrim Park falls in Tracy and Jeff Chesneys’ territory, so it’ll be their goats that tackle the park’s invasive plants.
When the Chesneys’ goats aren’t on a job, they live in the Chesneys’ old horse barn in Sunbury. Tracy Chesney, who used to raise horses, takes care of them, with the help of her adult son, Eli. The family has been in the goat grazing business for about two years.
“I mean I know I'm only a couple years into it, (but) I don't know if I'll ever get tired of watching them eat, I just really enjoy it,” Tracy Chesney said.
That’s another draw of the goats: wherever they go, people are excited to see them. The Chesneys’ herd has largely worked in backyards. Tracy Chesney said their clients have thrown “goat parties” and interrupted Zoom meetings to show off their four-legged landscapers.
“That seems to be a big part of why people do it,” Tracy Chesney said. “It's like, hey, if we need to get this done anyway, we may as well make it fun.”
Cain has held meet-and-greets when her goats grazed city properties. She’s taken her goats to Whitehall and Gahanna in the last few years.
“I love the community engagement. I think it really makes people really appreciate how unique it is and what an awesome job the goats can do,” Cain said.
Little goats - big personalities
When the Chenseys’ grazing herd of about 20 goats are in Antrim Park this summer, people are welcome to come visit.
Though, Jeff Chensey reminds folks, “when they are out there, they are working.”
The goats will be behind an electric fence, so people can’t pet them or feed them. The Chesneys will be on site about twice a day to check on the goats. Both the Chesneys and Columbus Recreation and Parks has the goats’ safety in mind.
Still, the goats are fun to watch. They’re a little like toddlers – especially in their tendency to put just about anything in their mouth, including, say, a microphone cord – and they all have different personalities.
Back in Newark, Cain points to goats in her herd: Matilda, who isn’t very bright; Kevin and Wilson, who were pet goats before they came to graze with her; and Winky, her “ambassador goat,” who can ride in the front seat of a car and makes appearances at parties.
She goes on, as the goats start to wake up from their late morning naps and get back to work.
