Using Goats to Clear Land & Open Spaces

Liz Crain of Leafhopper Farm describes how she uses her Goats to assist in clearing land which has been overgrown with Blackberry Bushes.

GOATS CLEARING LAND

Goats are browsers which means they prefer to eat the greens from bushes and trees elevated up off the ground. This makes them excellent for clearing land which has been taken over by things like Blackberry Bushes. Once they've gone through and eaten all the leaves someone can come through with clippers to cut the exposed cane.

SCOTCH BROOM

This plant is a non-native that was brought in from Scotland to make brooms. A lot of people consider it an invasive. It's in the Pea family so it's a wonderful nitrogen fixer. It comes up for 5 to 6 years and then it will begin to die back making room for the next species.

TRAILING BLACKBERRY

This is the Pacific Northwest's native blackberry. It stays low to the ground, has small berries and is very prolific, It is more of an edge species preferring to come in on the fringes.

ARMENIAN BLACKBERRY

This is a non-native that is very prolific because it arcs its canes up over other things and sends them back down to reroot. This strategy allows it to quickly cover an entire clearing. It can be seen as a protector the exposed ground by mitigating erosion, UV rays and heavy rain like a scab a damaged piece of land.

CUTLEAF BLACKBERRY

Also know as Evergreen Blackberry, this is another non-native plant. It can be distinguished from Armenian Blackery because it has very a dramatic tooth cut in its leaves. Some people say it has sweeter berries.

TRANSITION ZONES

A Transition Zone is a space where the sun can get down to the ground and you have the starting of a wall of vegetation. Hedges made of various plants can be grown up and trimmed to make natural fence lines that animals will avoid crossing. Dead brush can be used as a foundation or to fill holes for a hedgerow.

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Really great video. @aunt-deb sent me your way as I have LOADS of bramble that I'm trying to clear - goats seem like they'd be ideal!

This is the coolest use for a harmonic relationship with goats ever. I just got some property and can't accommodate these lovely creatures safely, yet! Do you recommend a breed combo pet-lawn mower?

I'd go with a small goat breed for pet and law care. Nigerian Dwarf comes to mind, and Tennessee fainting goats (myotonic goats) are also popular backyard breeds. They will need more than grass in their diet, as thy are browsers, not grazers.

Thank you for your advice, I'v spoken to a local goat farm with about 300 head. They offered to teach me the ropes in exchange for a little mucking. Got my boots. Can't wait. Best of luck.

The Goats are amazing animals but if you do not have a carefully it would eat all thing that you have near to its animals but how do you explain if have a free yard they will help you to clean very fast.
Thank you for sharing best regard @galberto

yes galberto, they can strip the bark off trees if there is not enough forage. Our goats are moved daily to prevent overgrazing. We tether them to target specific areas of the landscape. Fence trees in heavily used paddocks.

Great info. I'm not big on goats having owned them on two different occasions but they sure are great at clearing land!

Gotta love helpers like that! Let the animals do the work for you! Two green thumbs up!

nice work keep it up sir

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