Using goats for custom brush control is at times referred to as a “rent-a-goat” operation. Many landowners that need goats for vegetation management may not want to get into the goat business due to a lack of expertise, capital, time, or other resources. This provides potential for goat producers to capitalize on free grazing and/or get paid for grazing. Landowners needing these services include the federal government, such as the Forest Service or Army Corps …
Often the cost of fencing is a major limitation to using goats for vegetation management. Sometimes existing fences can be modified cheaply to contain goats. Both conventional fence and electric fencing can be effectively used to fence goats, but the use of electric fence requires a commitment to fence maintenance that some managers cannot make. Problems can occur with existing field fence that is a net-wire type with only 6 inches between vertical strands. Goats will be able to …
Blackberry (Rubus oklahomas) – Goats relish blackberries and readily defoliate them. Control is usually obtained with three years browsing by goats.
Blackjack oak (Quercus marilandica) – Goats consume leaves and produce a browse line. While they will control sprouts, they generally cannot control trees over 12-feet tall.
Buckbrush (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus) – This species tends to be low on the goat’s preference list, but they will consume the foliage. There are reports in …
Several herbaceous species deserve comments because of their importance. Goats will normally consume most herbaceous species with a few exceptions, such as mullein (Verbascum thaspus) and yellow crownbeard (Verbesena occidentalis).
Sericea lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata) – Goats often delayed consuming sericia lespedeza until mid-summer and then aggressively consumed it the remainder of the summer, often defoliating it to nearly level ground. Sericia has a large carbohydrate reserve …
