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Public Works, Energy & Utilities Goats take on meadow maintenance
Andover has enlisted goats to help maintain five acres of town-owned meadow for free.
The idea, developed by a Conservation Commission volunteer and a dairy goat farmer, comes at a time when it had become difficult to justify the cost of mowing the meadow. Bob Douglas, Andover’s conservation director, estimates that the twice-a-year mowing was costing the town as much as $1,000 in equipment-rental fees, fuel and labor.
With the goats, which were brought into the meadow for the first time in mid-October, “There is going to be no more expense,” Douglas said.
It is believed that goats produce more nutritious milk when they graze in a natural setting, which is one reason the goat farmer, Lucy McKain, proposed the idea.
To manage the grazing, one-half acre of the meadow is fenced off at a time, and that section is subdivided into smaller pens. The goats, well-known for their capacity to eat almost any type of vegetation, are allowed to graze on plants down to four inches above the soil. That makes the goats less likely to ingest harmful parasites and helps to protect the meadow ecology.
The goats also help out by consuming invasive plants, Douglas said.
A land trust that manages about 1,000 acres in Andover has expressed interest in making use of goats as well, Douglas said.
Public Works, Energy & Utilities Goats take on meadow maintenance
Goats take on meadow maintenance
Andover has enlisted goats to help maintain five acres of town-owned meadow for free.
The idea, developed by a Conservation Commission volunteer and a dairy goat farmer, comes at a time when it had become difficult to justify the cost of mowing the meadow. Bob Douglas, Andover’s conservation director, estimates that the twice-a-year mowing was costing the town as much as $1,000 in equipment-rental fees, fuel and labor.
With the goats, which were brought into the meadow for the first time in mid-October, “There is going to be no more expense,” Douglas said.
It is believed that goats produce more nutritious milk when they graze in a natural setting, which is one reason the goat farmer, Lucy McKain, proposed the idea.
To manage the grazing, one-half acre of the meadow is fenced off at a time, and that section is subdivided into smaller pens. The goats, well-known for their capacity to eat almost any type of vegetation, are allowed to graze on plants down to four inches above the soil. That makes the goats less likely to ingest harmful parasites and helps to protect the meadow ecology.
The goats also help out by consuming invasive plants, Douglas said.
A land trust that manages about 1,000 acres in Andover has expressed interest in making use of goats as well, Douglas said.
Written by MMA Associate Editor Mitch Evich
