Knapweed, tansy, leafy spurge, blackberries, and English ivy are just some of the weeds and invasive species that give land managers headaches. Craig Madsen is offering a picturesque, poison-free solution: his fetching herd of goats and sheep will forage freely on the stuff you don’t want, and leave the more desirable greenery behind.

Of course, it’s not quite that simple, as Craig would be quick to tell you. But given weeds at the right stage of growth – or palatability – some good fencing, and an intensive rotational grazing approach, goats and sheep can be a very effective tool for weed control. There is an art to this science, and as a shepherd Craig does much more than just move his “flerd” (flock of sheep + herd of goats) from one place to the next and keep predators at bay. He has 15 years of professional range management work to draw on, and a lifetime of ranching experience.

Craig helps clients to develop long-term ecosystem and herd management plans, but his main focus is vegetative management. “I provide a weed control service, a service you pay for just like spraying or mowing,” he explains. “It is just another tool you can use depending on the objectives for the site. I usually don’t call it a grazing service because people don’t think they should have to pay for grazing. I call it weed control.”

Craig had grown up with cattle, so he wasn’t sure he’d get along with the sprightlier livestock. “I bought a few goats three years ago to see if I could tolerate them and they could tolerate me,” he says. “They worked out fine, they are fun animals.” Craig and his wife Sue Lani launched Healing Hooves in 2002. Their first project was for the US Fish and Wildlife Service, at a fish hatchery in Leavenworth that was interested in alternatives to spraying weeds with herbicides. Since then, Craig has worked with some private individuals in the Methow Valley, and has even unleashed the flerd on invasive blackberries in urban Seattle. Most of the time he works on projects that are 20 acres or less.

“Now I have 250 head, mostly goats and a few sheep,” reports Craig. “The sheep are a shedding variety, so I don’t have to shear them; they are more of a meat sheep. All the male goats go to the meat market in October, and I keep the does over the winter and they kid in the spring.” Craig has tried selling cuts of goat meat directly to consumers, but it wasn’t cost effective; he now sells all his meat goats live to a couple of buyers.

“Most people think of weeds as a problem, and they can be, but for certain types of animals they are forage,” explains Craig. “As for a goat’s palate, broadleaf plants and shrubs are tastier, more nutritious fare than grasses. There is more concentrated protein in shrubs than grass and since goats have smaller stomachs than cows, they select for the higher nutritional value feed.” Since goats prefer to eat higher up on a plant and sheep tend to eat lower down, the animals work well in tandem.

“There are all kinds of potential uses for goats,” comments Craig, “it’s just a question of fitting them into a situation where they will be effective for weed control or reducing fuel loads. Goats do especially well in sensitive areas, like those near wetlands or streams. They’re also uniquely suited to difficult terrain. For instance, they are agile on steep slopes, and willing to jump up to reach hard-to-get foliage. And, they don’t mind thorns; blackberries are some of their favorite treats.

Craig and his herd are currently working on a three-year USDA-sponsored project to evaluate goat weed control potential on ranches in the federal wetland reserve program. The USDA has been spending a lot of money on chemical sprays for Russian olive, an invasive species that spreads quite rapidly in wetland areas. The plant is infamous for its nasty thorns, which are even capable of flattening tires. “We are evaluating how effective goats are for managing Russian olive compared to chemical treatments,” Craig explains.

With a guard dog on patrol, in some ways the life of a modern shepherd looks much as it always has – with a few extra tools. Craig illustrates, “When I take animals on a project, I put up portable electric netting; I fence the area where the weeds are and put them on a half acre or an acre at a time. Then I move them once a day or so.” Much like a traditional shepherd, Craig is mostly on the move. For six months of the year, he lives out of the sleeper cab of the truck he uses to haul the “flerd” from one job to the next. While many couldn’t imagine such a lifestyle, it suits Craig well.  “I enjoy being outdoors,” he explains. I move them every couple of days and I am always checking on them to make sure they are where they are supposed to be and that they are not being chased by something. For work like this, you’ve got to enjoy being by yourself, and being outdoors and camping.”

During the cold wet months, finding food and shelter for 250 animals is a costly challenge, especially since goats do not like being wet. Since Craig and Sue Lani own just a couple of acres, they rent other pasture in the winter and coordinate with neighbors, swapping pasture for weed control. The other challenge during the winter months for Craig is lining up a continuous flow of work for the coming season. While marketing is not Craig’s favorite part of the job, he realizes that building relationships with landowners is what will continue to make his business successful.

Craig is also quick to point out that controlling weeds with animals is not a quick fix. “If just weeds are there,” he explains, “you have to work with the landowner to establish something to compete. It’s not a one-time shot; weeds are very well adapted to producing seed. If the plant has been there several years, there is a seed source in the ground that will continue to produce new plants for many years. You have to take a long-term approach to weed control. You can’t just hit it once and be done.” But as any landowner can tell you, there are no easy fixes for invasive weeds, and most people find that having a herd of weed-eating goats on their land is a lot more fun than spraying chemicals.