Those nasty weeds that just about everyone hates—leafy spurge, Russian knapweed, Canada thistles, whitetop—are loved by one thing: goats. Goats like nothing better than to chomp up some spurge and chow down on a thistle. So if you are interested in weed control without pesticides, goats just may be the answer.

Using goats to battle weeds is growing in popularity in the West. Goats will eat just about anything, including plants that are poisonous to other animals. And unlike horses and cows, goats actually prefer weeds to grass.

One of the originators of the goat-grazing, weed-control movement is Lani Malmberg. Malmberg discovered the power of goats while getting a masters degree in weed science from Colorado State University. A native Wyomingite who migrates around the West with her 1,220-strong herd in search of weeds, Malmberg believes goats can be used both to cut down on the spread of non-native plants and to improve the quality of the range.

"For example, they’ve been spraying for leafy spurge in Fremont County [Wyoming] since 1945," Malmberg says. "They have probably put billions of dollars into spraying, but there is more spurge around there than ever… It doesn’t work. You spray and kill everything, not just the weeds. The weeds come back. With goats, I am changing the plant dynamics. Goats help heal the landscape and restore desirable broadleaf plants."

One of Malmberg’s big success stories can be seen in Cheyenne. There, for the past four years, her goats have been grazing the banks of the streams that run through town. As a result, Malmberg notes, the streamsides look like lush golf courses rather than tangles of sticky, pokey weeds.

"The population of the United States is becoming more aware, more educated about the true destruction and cost of using pesticides," Malmberg says. "The people in Cheyenne didn’t want chemicals getting in the water. They didn’t want pesticides around their kids and pets. They wanted to bring fish back into the streams. And my goats are working… We’ve seen significant improvements."

Goats browse on brush, leaves and twigs, stripping the plants of their leaves and flowers so they can’t reproduce or conduct photosynthesis. As they munch, the animals leave behind denuded plant stalks, which help hold soil in place. Their sharp hooves stomp their feces into the soil, fertilizing and aerating it in their wake. The goats also chew their cud so long weed seeds are broken down and will not germinate in the soil after they pass through the goat’s digestive tract. In addition, goat urine is rich in nitrogen, and best of all, the animals don’t like grass.

There is a downside to goats. Parts of the world, such as the mountains in Mexico’s Baja California or along the Mediterranean have been stripped bare by centuries of grazing goats. But when goat grazing is carefully controlled and the animals moved on a regular basis, their prodigious eating capacity is bad news only for a healthy weed.

Additional Resources:
• Lani Malmberg’s company is Ewe4ic Ecological Services. She can be contacted at 970-219-0451.
• County weed and pest departments and local conservation districts can provide information on alternative weed controls including goats and bugs.