Green Options » goats

Google Rents Goats to Mow Office Lawn

Jake Richardson — Sat, 02 May 2009 22:13:48 +0000

At the Mountain View, CA headquarters of Google, goats have been employed as a low-carbon alternative to gasoline lawnmowers. About 200 goats are used for a week at a time to trim weeds, eat grass, and clean up brush. They also fertilize as they consume.

A border collie named Jen keeps the goats in a manageable herd. They were rented from California Grazing, a company which has 800 goats for rent (also known as weed abaters). If you need any goats in the Bay Area, operators are now standing by.

Image Credit: California Grazing

Yearn Worthy Yarn: Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm

Kelly Rand — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 17:30:07 +0000

If you live in a city (or even the ‘burbs) and are touched with a fiber obsession, the thought of packing it up and moving to a farm to raise your own sheep is not too often in the back of your mind. It sounds so romantic doesn’t it? Tending your own flock, shearing and preparing the fiber for spinning. Spinning, then dying the yarn, then knitting with your creation, knowing everything that went into the process.

Has reality set in yet? Kids, job, partner, just doesn’t equal farm bliss. Well listen up and take heed. You can now, partially, live out your dream of running away to tend sheep with a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share from Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm.

With a share in the Farm you buy into the Farm and have a stake in its success. The goal is to have yarn or bats for spinning at the end of the process, but you get so much more. You have access to Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm’s blog, where there are updates on the farm’s goings on. A weekly email update, invites to shearing parties and a chance to visit the farm and help out. This is after all, part your farm!

City Passes on Gas Mowers, Hires Goats to Clear Grass

Alex Felsinger — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 20:30:46 +0000

The Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency enlisted 100 goats to clear a 2.5-acre downtown lot yesterday, saying that the goats are cheaper and better for the environment than humans with weed-wackers, the LA Times reports.

The steep, weed-coated property temporarily turned to somewhat of a zoo, with downtown workers halting from their commute to gawk at the munching mountain goats. Subway riders snapped photos on their cell phones, capturing the stark contrast between the skyscrapers and the specialty-breed South African Boers. Being so close to Hollywood, many onlookers assumed the goats were part of a film set or public art installation.