Goats: The Green Way to Kill a Weed

January 22, 2009

I’ve got a bit of fun info for you today that is somewhat related to both food and the environment. For the last few months I’ve been trying to figure out a way to incorporate goats into one of my posts.

I enjoy a little goat cheese mixed into dishes although I’ve never used it at home myself. Then there is goat meat, but let’s not even go there. I’ve seen it on the menu in places like Jamaica, but I simply could never eat goat meat whether it means I’m not being open to other cultures or not.
And this is why:


Although I didn’t talk about it much at the time, when I was home visiting my family over the summer 4 of my parent’s goats were pregnant. I got to experience the birth of 6 baby goats including 2 sets of twins! I’m smiling now just thinking about how much fun it was.

I saw them over Christmas all puffed out to keep warm in the cold temperatures and this is what brought the topic of goats to mind again.


I was flipping through a magazine this past weekend and I finally found my goat topic – kudzu. Kudzu is a vine/plant that was imported to the US from Japan in the mid-1800s and was first used to prevent soil erosion. Soon it took off and got completely out of control, mostly in the southern parts of the US – Georgia, North Carolina, etc. Now it is considered a very annoying weed. Some states have even mandated that people remove it from their property.

This is where the goats come in. As you know, and I assure it is true, a goat will eat anything. So instead of herbicides which don’t work anyway, land owners are using goats to clear the kudzu from their property. Apparently the goats love it and nutritionally it is pretty good for them, according to what I’ve read.

When I came across the story it struck me as such a positive example of an environmentally safe way to eliminate a weed. No chemicals or dangerous materials, just a cute goat munching away. And of course, it gave me an excuse to share my photos.

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  • Daily Spud January 22, 2009 at 4:49 am

    Great environmentally sensitive approach – hooray for goats! (and if it means that there ends up being more goats cheese to go around, all the better 🙂 )

  • Tangled Noodle January 22, 2009 at 5:08 am

    They are so adorable!! We used to live in NC and can attest to how invasive it is – kudzu blankets everything! Given the amount, it would be scary to think of widespread herbicide use to eliminate it. What a great solution! Kudzu is also edible for humans, too but it’s got such a bad reputation as a weed that it may not fly as a foodstuff. Excellent post and sweet pictures!

  • VeggieGirl January 22, 2009 at 6:00 am

    So precious!! 🙂

  • Erica January 22, 2009 at 6:53 am

    Oh my gosh! So freaking cute! How cool that you got to witness all those births! Love how environmentally friendly it is! Have a good one chicky!

  • laura January 22, 2009 at 7:15 am

    A really interesting post, Lori, but even if you had just said, “Look, my family raises goats,” I would’ve been all “Wow! Cute photos! How interesting!” 🙂

  • Emily January 22, 2009 at 8:01 am

    Several years ago, a large municipality in Georgia paid several hundred thousand dollars to a consulting company to determine the best (most cost effective) way of getting rid of the kudzu that was trying to cover up the city. The result: put up temporary fencing and rent goats. It was going to save tons of money over using the specialized kudzu herbicide. It cracks me up that we paid someone hundreds of thousands of dollars for that answer though!!! 😉

    Your pictures are way cute, but I must admit that I’ve enjoyed goat BBQ in the past. (But I also grew up eating the cattle, swine, and lambs that my family raised . . .)

  • Meg January 22, 2009 at 8:29 am

    They are so cute! How amazing that you got to witness the birth!

  • Emily January 22, 2009 at 10:55 am

    So cute! I agree with laura, you didn’t have to give me goat-related information to justify sharing baby animal pictures 🙂

    I’ve heard that they use goats at the Getty Center museum in LA. It’s at the top of a hill, and landscaping the hill would be pretty difficult. So to avoid letting growth get out of hand, they have a flock of goats that graze on the plants and keep everything under control.

  • lauren January 22, 2009 at 12:04 pm

    I love this post – everything about it. and now I want a baby goat to cuddle with. 🙂

  • Lori January 22, 2009 at 2:10 pm

    Daily Spud – I thought so too. I definitely need to start using goat cheese more.

    TN – Thanks for the interesting info. I didn’t realize we could eat it as well. I agree though, once something is pegged as a weed it would have a difficult time making it into our food chain. 🙂

    VeggieGirl – I think so. 🙂

    Erica – It was pretty cool. They are so fun to watch too.

    laura – Ha, ha! Thanks. I knew I liked them, but I figured I should keep at least some kind of running theme. 🙂

    Emily – What a simple, expensive solution. Ha, ha! Thanks for sharing the story. I admit I’ve eaten lambs that we had raised for a while. Although, I did not know it at the time. This was revealed to me as an adult. I thought we had given them away to a new home and an open field. 🙁

    Meg – I just love seeing them. They are almost like dogs too, very tame and want attention all the time. 🙂

    Emily – Ha, ha! Thanks. I’ll remember that when I have more to share. 🙂 Another cool way to use them. The best part is I’m sure the goats are loving it too. Eating as your job – not too bad.

    lauren – Thanks. They will literally jump in your lap if you pull up a chair in the barn. 🙂

  • Tangled Noodle January 22, 2009 at 5:47 pm

    Lori, I think you’ve got a sweet site so I’m passing along the Lemonade Award to you – feel free to ‘pick it up’ anytime!

  • Jenn January 22, 2009 at 8:31 pm

    OMG, those goats are too darn cute. And they’re so eco-friendly! 🙂

  • Michelle January 23, 2009 at 2:17 pm

    They are so so cute! I just love them! Are they friendly and do they like to cuddle? 🙂

  • Lori January 25, 2009 at 6:34 am

    TN – Thanks so much! I plan to post about it this week.

    Jenn – Aren’t they just the cutest? They always make me smile.

    Michelle – They love to cuddle. They are just like puppies. They will literally jump in your lap. They are always seeking attention. Lots of fun!

  • cathy January 25, 2009 at 8:20 am

    SO cute! We used to joke that if you stood in one spot for too long, the kudzu would get you. It’s kind of scarily beautiful when it covers a large hunk of land, trees and all, though, isn’t it? More goats! Less kudzu!

  • Reeni♥ January 25, 2009 at 5:29 pm

    They are too sweet for words!

  • Lori January 26, 2009 at 4:31 am

    cathy – I kind of thought the same thing when I saw pictures. I’ve never seen it in person. I’m sure most don’t see it that way though. Thank goodness for the all-eating goat! Nothing stands in their way. 🙂

    Reeni – Thanks. I just love them to pieces.

  • Jen February 1, 2009 at 6:05 am

    those pictures speak words of their own! how cute!! I really love goats cheese, which I eat almost daily… but I could never eat a goat. 🙁

  • Lori February 2, 2009 at 3:54 am

    Hi Jen – Thanks for stopping by with your comment. I am with ya on that one for sure. 🙂

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