What We Do
Our farm operates Goats On The Go® of Northern New Mexico, which offers environmentally-friendly vegetation management through the use of goat grazing.
This service involves deploying a herd of trained goats to graze on targeted areas for brush control, weed management, fire mitigation, and land restoration.
Goats are ‘browsers,’ (as opposed to cows and horses, which are ‘grazers.’) This means they actually prefer to eat invasive weeds and shrubs over most native plants and grasses. They can easily climb small trees and eat all the leaves, or eat the leaves off seedlings, and they can reach craggy areas that crews with chainsaws can’t.
The goats’ natural browsing behavior coupled with our strategic way of deploying them results in targeted vegetation management. We create space for native plants to thrive, while controlling unwanted and excessive vegetation that would otherwise be fuel for wildfires.
Benefits Of
Targeted Grazing
Eco-Friendly
Our goat grazing service offers an environmentally friendly solution to control unwanted vegetation.
By working with the natural behavior of goats, who have an inherent preference for weeds and brush, we help limit heavy machinery and herbicide use, which reduces CO2 emissions into the air and the release of chemicals into the soil.
Goats are efficient at this task, nimbly accessing land that is challenging for people and machinery.
Reduces Wildfire Risk
Increasingly common and catastrophic wildfires in the U.S. are fueled by excess vegetation, on a scale such that manual and mechanical removal alone is not practical.
Goat grazing plays a positive role in wildfire prevention. It helps reduce fuel biomass and shrub encroachment. The herd essentially consumes all of the main components of the lower layer of the fuel ladder.
Goats also enjoy a better public perception in New Mexico (and pretty much everywhere?) than cutting and spraying or prescribed burning.
Regenerative
Goats help restore soil quality, because their cloven hooves help break up compacted ground.
Additionally, goats actually prefer eating invasive plants and shrubs over most native plants and grasses. North America is in an uphill battle with invasive plants, but goat grazing creates new growing space, reduces shading, and destroys invasive seeds through digestion, allowing native plant species to thrive.
Last, goats obviously leave behind organic fertilizer, promoting the enrichment of the soil.
Hypoallergenic and Poison-Proof
If you suffer from allergies to plants growing in your yard, we can clear it out so you can breathe easy!
Goats love to eat ragweed, chamisa, and many other plants that agitate us.
They are even happy to eat poison ivy, and are not in the least bit affected by its poisonous compounds. They devour wild roses like candy, despite the sharp thorns!
Goats basically repurpose nature’s nasty stuff into nice stuff.
Interested in Hiring Our Herd?
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Send us details about your project to receive a ballpark estimate, or click the FAQ link to read about how it works first