Issue 363 The Goat/sheep mower June 23, 2014

You remember my Issue 357 on using pigs to aid in recycling garbage?  Well here is another idea straight out of history.  Using Goats or Sheep to mow the lawn.  Let's talk.

Animal Mowers:  In the past, the White House did not have gardeners.  They instead had sheep and goat herders on the White House lawn eat the excess grass.  Why did they do this?  Well, for one, we were more of an agrarian economy, and the goats/sheep kept the lawn looking nice.  When the White House could finally pay to have gardeners, there were times, like in war where none could pay them.  So the sheep and the goats were brought in to keep the White House lawn looking nice.  Thus the inspiration.  Could we use these fuzzy animals to keep our national parks looking nice?

Idea:  So the Sheep and goats would be brought in to feed on the ever growing grass around our monuments and some of our national parks.  This means no need to spend on fuel to power lawn mowers or maintain machines.  The expense would simply come down to housing the animals at night, as the grass they feed on during the day would feed them most if not all of their nutrition.  On top of this, the wool of the sheep and the milk from the goats could be collected to be sold off.  This will help pay to offset the costs of caring for the animals.  So basically, the national parks and monuments get their grass trimmed, the animals help pay for themselves and we get a more natural way to mow the lawn.

Negatives:  The smell.  These animals poo often.  This problem can be offset by attaching poo bags to collect their feces to be sold later as fertilizer.  But, just as people complain about the smell of the lawn mower (the gas and the pollen it throws into the air), they will complain about the smell of poo.  

On the other hand, animals are not as efficient to doing a task, and need to rest every once in a while.  Also, while we can offset the costs of taking care of the animals, they take a larger amount of space to care for as well.  Thus, the sheep/goat idea is more for the national parks where people don't want to hear a lawn mower in the background, but the natural views and animals they may see.  So unleashing these animals in the parks may provide a lovely tourist attraction and reduce maintenance costs (especially if you prefer the let them loose as wild animals rather than domesticated and that's if there is more food than they can actually consume and be naturally replenished).  So basically, if you want to have a less human footprint, this is the better option.

Conclusion:  Yes, this idea, while historically supported, may not be the best idea.  In fact, most national parks require almost no maintenance in the first place.  So this idea can be for those key areas of the country, or when there is another government shutdown.  Heck, some people can offer it as a service for suburban and rural communities.  Free lawn mowing and fertilizer, compliments of the goats/sheep. It's at best something to consider.