Glyphogoats

September 2021

As glyphosate's reputation disappears down the drain [1,2], and European countries progressively tighten regulations on the use of this herbicide, various new and old alternative approaches have been proposed to deal with weeds. These have included hot foam, blow-torching, hot water, old-fashioned hoeing and hand-weeding, or even simply tolerating weeds if their presence isn't causing a problem except to the tidy-minded.

Another way to get rid of weeds is to eat them, or rather get something that likes the taste of weeds to eat them for you. 

One horticulturist in Australia has trained a herd of goats for just that purpose: they've been used to clear weeds from people's back yards and to 'mow' expansive lawns; they've proved invaluable in inaccessibly steep or dangerous areas and in sensitive sites such as waterway margins. Young goats can be used in conservation because they tend to prefer the exotic plants you want rid of, leaving the native vegetation to grow back. Bigger goats will tackle the tough stuff like two-metre-high blackberries.

The weed-busting herd is relaxed, docile, easy to work with, and has been accustomed to traffic noises.

Not everyone has been impressed. One evaluation of goat grazing by a water authority found it ineffective where plant height impeded access, or (arguably) where blackberries and honeysuckle were involved, or where ground conditions were inappropriate (goats don't like getting their feet wet), and indiscriminate with regard to native and exotic plant species.

However, elsewhere, local authorities have been so pleased with the results that they've come back for more. One described the benefits as "countless".

OUR COMMENT

The 'countless' benefits include:

• chemical use can be minimised
• no one's going to get non-Hodgkin lymphoma from handling goats
• goats don't drift invisibly with the wind onto other sites or onto innocent bystanders
• there's no machine noise, and a low CO2 footprint
• no one's going to suffer repetitive stress injury from handling goats
• goats move under their own steam to wherever the weeds are
• goats reproduce themselves
• there's the potential for the added value of milk, meat and fertiliser
• goats won't mess with our epigenome or harm future generations [3]

In 2020, Luxembourg took the initiative to impose a total ban on the use of glyphosate-based products, the first European country to do so. Suggest to your regulators that it's time Britain followed Luxembourg's lead in putting the safety of its people before industry interests. You could raise their awareness about goats at the same time.


Background

[1] GLYPHOSATE ATTACK BY STEALTH - February 2020

[2] GLYPHOSATE ON TRIAL - May 2019

[3] EPIGENETIC MAYHEM COURTESY OF GLYPHOSATE? - Coming-up, September 2021

SOURCES:

• Jewel Topsfield, With weedkiller on the nose, councils using goats as chewers of choice, www.theage.com.au, 21.12.19

• Luxembourg, the first country in the European Union to ban the use of glyphosate, https://gouvernement.lu, 1.16.20

  Photo Creative Commons