FARIBAULT, Minn. – A Minnesota couple has created a business they say is eco-friendly, less time-intensive and much more fun way to deal with invasive weeds and buckthorn.

Instead of spraying herbicides, Amanda and Jake Langeslag use goats to get rid of weeds. 

“This was something we’d been kicking around for a couple of years before we started,” Jake said. “I saw a news piece on goats being used to control noxious and invasive weeds in Red Wing. There was a DNR contact at the end of the article. They were looking for more people to participate.”

Jake has a neighbor with goats. He talked to his neighbor about the idea, and time went by. Eventually, Jake and Amanda thought they’d have a stab at renting goats out for weed control.

“It was four years ago that we went and borrowed six or eight goats and just started practicing with them,” Jake said. “We put them out behind the house to see what they’d eat and how they’d do. They did a really good job, and it kept growing from there.”

The couple expanded their operation by putting goats in neighbors’ yards to clear out primarily garlic mustard. People started taking notice at the good job the goats were doing.

Today, Jake and Amanda own and operate Goat Dispatch and will deliver goats up to two-and-a-half hours away. Clients include municipalities, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, farmers, private homeowners and park services.

Pulling these plants is an option, but this will be time intensive and the plants come back pretty rapidly. Spraying herbicides and defoliants can knock them back some; but once again this is an ongoing process and can potentially be expensive. Plus, chemicals aren’t always the best option in city parks, groves, lawns and certain farms.

The Langeslags’ herd number has grown from single digits to more than 150 goats. Those goats have a unique diet.

“I talked to game managers in parks and they said garlic mustard was one plant they were having issues with,” Jake said. “When I talked with other goat operations, they said goats didn’t really eat garlic mustard. But we put our goats into a patch of the stuff and they really took to it. Now they eat it like crazy.”

Amanda and Jake are working on growing their herd. They are crossing breeds that have the specific foraging traits they want. And the hard work is paying off. Jake said there are lot of new bookings and more importantly a lot of customers returning from previous years.

“This isn’t a onetime solution,” Jake said. “It is an ongoing maintenance. Some people book us a couple times per year, others once a year, or even once every couple of years. It depends on your individual situation.”

Posz writes for the Mankato, Minnesota Land Online.