WACO, TX — A herd of goats are hard at work.
The City of Waco is testing a goat landscaping program this weekend. Rent-A-Ruminant Texas brought in 120 goats on Saturday to graze and clear invasive vegetation in areas that are not accessible by city staff.
The goats are fenced in on a three-quarter acre stretch of land off University Parks Drive between Waco Drive and Bosque Boulevard.
Kyle Carr, the co-owner of Rent-A-Ruminant Texas, said this is an eco-friendly, sustainable approach to ridding property of unwanted vegetation.
"They'll use their bodies to knock it down and eat every bit of it," Kyle said. "It's pretty amazing."
He added that people enjoy stopping by to watch the goats work.
Trey Miller and his daughter went out of their way to visit the goats on Memorial Day.
"This is remarkable. It's a simple solution to a dangerous problem and it's green, it's environmentally sound," Trey said. "What a wonderful way to make a living, taking your goats around and doing something good."
"Oh it's great. We love the feedback and everyone out here enjoys it," Carr said. "It's just fun to watch the goats run around and play and eat and do their work."
Terry Carr, Kyle's dad and sales manager, said the goats range in age and size.
"They love leaves and then they go down and start eating all the ground cover," Terry said. "The taller ones will pull down a branch, then all the other little ones will run around to eat it while it's still low enough for them to grab. All of the little piranhas will come running around."
Before the goats arrived, Terry said you couldn't see the floor through all the brush. Now, the Brazos River can now be seen through the trees.
Kyle said the goats should finish up the job by Wednesday or Thursday.
If the program is effective, the city will consider using the goats to control vegetation in other areas along the Brazos River.
For more information on Rent-A-Ruminant Texas, click here.
