Alternative Grass Management with Goats

Commodities

Practices

Agricultural students will be introduced to the practice of using goat browsing as an alternative and beneficial way to manage native grass pastures. This will include implementation of on hands-on workshops with professional regenerative farmers/ranchers. This curriculum will include basic goat husbandry, goat integration into existing beef operations and additional business opportunities. Additionally, students will demonstrate knowledge of current common practices of plant/weed management: herbicides and pesticides. They will be able to defend the practice of using goats in lieu of traditional methods and how ecologically beneficial goat browsing is to our grasslands.

1. Introduce goats as a viable method of managing grass pastures through hands-on clinics and demonstrations with 40 high school agricultural students. Students will be able to identify desirable and undesirable plants in a pasture and how goats can change the plant population, amend the soil and reduce the need for chemical applications.
2. Demonstrate additional streams of income goats can provide to existing beef production or as stand alone businesses through pasture clearing or goat meat production
3. Students will present to elementary students the ecologically sound practices of using goats for grass management and meat production.