Goats to be free landscape labor

SUNDERLAND, MD. Have you herd? Goats will soon be making their way through Maryland and Northern Virginia, as property owners trade machinery and labor crews for hungry, four-legged landscapers ready to decimate any vegetation in their way.

Mary Bowen, owner of Sunderland-based Green Goats and Prosperity Acres farm, will be putting her herd of more than 70 goats to work from May to October, using them to clear overgrown vegetation in various private and public areas across the state.

Unlike traditional land-clearing methods such as herbicide treatments and excavation services, which can have adverse effects on the environment, goats offer an environmentally-friendly alternative.

Poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac are some of the goats favorite vegetation choices, making the animals perfect for jobs with highly concentrated areas of poisonous plants humans wouldnt dare tackle themselves.

Bowen founded Green Goats three years ago, with the intention of providing a service that would benefit both the environment and the state.

For years, the Bowen family had been showing goats, along with cattle and horses, at local 4-H shows around the state, including the Anne Arundel County Fair in Crownsville and the Maryland State Fair in Timonium.

I wanted to be able to do something with the goats other than showing them. ... I actually wanted to utilize them to do what they naturally do, which is forage, Bowen said.

After linking up with Enrique Escobar, a small ruminant specialist and assistant professor at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, Bowen was able to make her plan a reality.

During a workshop in which Escobar recounted past experiences with using goats for land clearing projects in Oklahoma, Bowen saw the potential in bringing the practices to Maryland.

I decided I wanted to be able to develop this business, because I had heard in other states, particularly California, where they use the goats to clear out for firebreaks in the park services ... and that was what I really wanted to be able to start doing, Bowen said. Something that is good for our community ... good for our state.

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Goats to be free landscape labor