Got grass? Goats are put to work as eco-friendly lawn mowers
Goats are the new lawn mowers in 2020.
The Goats on the Go program, announced Friday in Nassau County, enlists the help of six local goats from Old Bethpage Village Restoration to chomp away at pesky brush.
Unlike motorized landscaping equipment, goats mow down overgrown weeds and other vegetation without disturbing the earth — and they don’t leave behind toxic chemicals.
They’re not picky eaters, either. Goats have the ability to consume various kinds of plants — including poison ivy — and are known to eat Christmas trees when the holidays are over and clear dried plants prone to brush fires. In their wake, they leave soil-enriching manure, which they push into the ground with their hooves.
“Grazing goats are a greener, cheaper and very effective way of landscaping,” said Nassau County Executive Laura Curran in a press release.
Not only are the grazing goats eco-friendly and eager to help, but they’re cute, too. Four of the six goats have names — Lucifer, Sandy, Clover and Jackie — and there’s even a contest to name the remaining two members of the herd.
If these adorable weed-eaters excel at their job at Old Bethpage, they’ll embark on a county-wide tour to “goatscape” in other locations.