UM Radrick Farms Golf Course using goats for weed control
The University of Michigan golf course rented 10 Boer goats to help control and remove invasive plants this year.
"Dan Mausolf, the course's superintendent, and a member of the Michigan Golf Course Superintendent Association, said Radrick Farms is the only course in Michigan to use goats for vegetative management."
Source: MLive 7/23/15
http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2015/07/michigans_goat_caddyshack.html
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What does that mean? That goats are high-pitched? Or is this some new millennial hipster term for... well, something?
An adjective used in hip-hop culture to describe someone who is considered to be well respected, coming from a combination of the words "true" and "real".
Actually, since it's the first hit on Google, you could also...
But in general, Urban Dictionary is the answer for the "get off my lawn" crowd. I fall in between that group and the people who actually use these sort of terms myself...
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"Gnarly"? I don't know what it means but it sure sounds rad. I'm gonna start using that one.
Totally tubular.
Actually, it's a form of the word "Trololo", as in the famous song by Eduard Khil:
If you consult the Russian Urban Dictionary, you'll find the word "trill" has been in use ever since an entire generation of Russians grew up trying to "tro-lo-lo" like Khil does, in other words, as in "I'd like to trill like Khil." .
#The More You Know
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Neat but not unheard of. I believe Apple and Google do the same thing out west
Where I live in Colorado municipalities use goats to mow some of the parks.
They use goats (and llamas, sheep, and burros) in the less accessible areas at O'hare International Airport.
http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2014/08/28/o-hare-airport-home-goats-lla…
Andolino says animals do the job better than mowing equipment because the terrain can get a little rough. And, it’s better for the environment. “There's heavy rocks, and it’s an embankment so getting machines to mow this would be a challenge,” she said.
Wouldn't the goats eat the grass along with the weeds? If not, this sounds like an awesome business opportunity for "organic, natural lawn care"!
I have played there a few times this summer.
They have had the goats for about a month or so now; They have them fenced in at certain points on the course (they can roam just not on the actual course--otherwise you are right they would destroy the course too). It was amazing to see the changes from even one week to the next with how much the goats ate!
Ironically they prefer the invasive stuff over the lush green grass if given a choice. They will damn near eat anything from weeds, briars, etc to aluminum cans and are nearly free labor for stuff like this.
Our neighbor has goats in a fenced off area. They rarely have to mow that section. Owner is a vet, so they also have chickens, dogs, an iguana, and some fish.
We also have 4 chickens. We generally only have to buy eggs during the winter, when egg production slows down to maybe 1 a day between the 4 birds. Otherwise, we average 3-4 eggs per day during spring/summer/fall.
My neighbor has 6-8 goats and I'm trying to think up a way to fence in the woods behind my house because they say they'll eat the s**t out of the poison ivy. I certainly haven't been able to kill it.
Totally with you on the poison ivy. That stuff will, and does, grow seemingly everywhere on our property.
Adds new meaning to Radrick Farms. One of my favorite parts about the course is variety of wildlife. It adds some character that you just don't see very often on a golf course.
Had a goat named Caesar when I was a kid. Goats are wild as shit.
Probably doesn't run in the family.
Makes sense. It is the year of the goat afterall.
Weed, like... drug weed? Fucking goats.
It was pretty cool.
baaaaaaaaaaah baaaaaaaaaaaahhh baahhh
I would never start a thread for this, but if anyone with eligibility is ever in need of an extra graduate student to complete their foursome, I know of a certain mgoblogger who would be thankful to join. I have never had the opportunity to play Radrick and it is one of my goals while back here for grad school.
I used to collect golf balls in the woods behind Radrick. I grew up on Dixboro so those woods were off the back of our property as well. Glad we never ran into each other while you were bow hunting! :-)
Both courses are now open to the public, but its pricey over $100 each.
http://umgolfcourse.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/mackenzie-dye_promo_card_10-1.pdf
I LOVE this. Perhaps it stems from my hatred of waking up early on Saturday mornings as a child to go mow the lawn...but it's still awesome.
I wonder what the downsides are. I guess they have to worry about cleaning up the goat poo and whatnot.
I'd imagine in areas that are seen by the populous they still have to use string trimmers and chemicals to control weeds to polish the areas off aesthetically.
Golfers, in my experience are extremely picky about how the courses look, which is why so many chemical applications are common on golf courses, explaining the high prevalence for cancer in golf course management.
They said somoeone was bitten next door at Matthai. The more you know.
and you can harvest them at the end of their life cycle and make some $. however, where goats leave little 'nanny berries' when they dump, our cows tend to leave stuff that could make a golf cart stick to it like fly paper.