PLATTEVILLE - New kids have come to the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.
Kids of the goat species, that is.
UW-Platteville has brought 40 goats to campus in a project four years in the making to "remove invasive honeysuckle and garlic mustard from a 2-acre plot of land in an environmentally- and financially-friendly way," according to a university news release.
Another purpose is to increase the profitability of the dairy goat industry, said Tera Montgomery, professor of dairy science at UW-Platteville.
An open house to present the goats and answer questions from the public about the project was held recently in the university's 45-acre Memorial Park where the goats are now housed within an electric-fenced area. Dr. Yari Johnson, professor of reclamation, along with Montgomery and Amy Seeboth-Wilson, UW-Platteville's sustainability coordinator, and Montgomery directed the event.
The goats were rented for $3,500 from Green Goats LLC in Monroe and were paid for by a grant from the UW-Platteville Campus Sustainability Fund as a part of their sustainability plan.
Seeboth-Wilson said before she began working at the university in 2009, the college "hadn't had a sustainability plan."
When the university got a group of people together to create a plan, Seeboth-Wilson said it was "suggested they use goats" to solve their problem of reinstituting Memorial Park's original landscape. Although Montgomery said cattle, buffalo and elk all could have had essentially the same impact, goats were the most feasible choice.
"We're not going to bring buffalo on campus," said Seeboth-Wilson.
Using goats to clear invasive species is "more practical" than hiring people to do it, she added, because of details like "time" and "cost." She said that this probably wouldn't be a job that people would want to do because the undergrowth is very thorny and prickly.
Memorial Park was traditionally an oak savannah, but the understory has grown and taken over so baby oaks are no longer able to prosper, Seeboth-Wilson said.
"We are trying to restore this land back to what it would have been like as a native community," she said. "If we can restore this to the way it historically was, certain wildlife can come back to campus ... It's a perfect solution to a complicated problem."
Making the dairy goat industry more profitable is another hope, Montgomery added, especially since many of her students "want to go into the industry."
"Not very profitable" is how Montgomery described this industry at the present, adding the region needs a better market for goat meat, especially since, as Seeboth-Wilson put it, the area is in a "hotbed of goat dairy farms."
"We can make it taste good," said Montgomery, adding the college now has the ability to prove it.
To bring the project to its present state, a senior-level class taught by Montgomery began doing research on the idea, and "did interviews" with different companies that rent out goats to see which would be the best fit, she said.
This project has given the students the ability to "learn as they're doing," she added.
The herd will have a 20-day trial period; if the test goes well, Montgomery said, she hopes to keep a herd of goats at the university "semi-permanently."
The goats can be bought in the spring and raised at Pioneer Farm for a time, Montgomery said. During the summer, individuals involved in the program can "rotate them around" between several fenced areas to promote rotational grazing. In the fall, the goats can be slaughtered for food.
Rotational grazing will also help encourage the goats to eat the plants they're supposed to, Seeboth-Wilson said.
"Different goats will be picky" about the food they eat, she said.
However, she added that as long as the goats "clear the understory," the university representatives are "not terribly picky" about what they eat.
"Fence off the trees you want to grow ... fence them (the goats) in a smaller area," or "use manpower" to control the goats' diet are other ways Montgomery said the goats can be encouraged to eat what they're supposed to eat.
Keeping the herd on campus during the winter isn't currently a possible. "We don't own the facilities" that would be required to house the goats year-round, Montgomery said, adding that they wouldn't be able to "feed them over winter" because of the expense.
However, Montgomery said it may be possible to maintain some "permanent (goat) residents" in the future, possibly by keeping these animals at a student's farm during the cold season.
Seeboth-Wilson and Montgomery agreed that the project had been going well so far, beginning with the fact the goats haven't escaped, especially after last week's severe weather.
"Nothing has spooked them yet," Montgomery said. "I would say it's a success."
Seeboth-Wilson agreed. Within the first week of the project, she said they had seen a "huge difference" in the landscape already.
Kids of the goat species, that is.
UW-Platteville has brought 40 goats to campus in a project four years in the making to "remove invasive honeysuckle and garlic mustard from a 2-acre plot of land in an environmentally- and financially-friendly way," according to a university news release.
Another purpose is to increase the profitability of the dairy goat industry, said Tera Montgomery, professor of dairy science at UW-Platteville.
An open house to present the goats and answer questions from the public about the project was held recently in the university's 45-acre Memorial Park where the goats are now housed within an electric-fenced area. Dr. Yari Johnson, professor of reclamation, along with Montgomery and Amy Seeboth-Wilson, UW-Platteville's sustainability coordinator, and Montgomery directed the event.
The goats were rented for $3,500 from Green Goats LLC in Monroe and were paid for by a grant from the UW-Platteville Campus Sustainability Fund as a part of their sustainability plan.
Seeboth-Wilson said before she began working at the university in 2009, the college "hadn't had a sustainability plan."
When the university got a group of people together to create a plan, Seeboth-Wilson said it was "suggested they use goats" to solve their problem of reinstituting Memorial Park's original landscape. Although Montgomery said cattle, buffalo and elk all could have had essentially the same impact, goats were the most feasible choice.
"We're not going to bring buffalo on campus," said Seeboth-Wilson.
Using goats to clear invasive species is "more practical" than hiring people to do it, she added, because of details like "time" and "cost." She said that this probably wouldn't be a job that people would want to do because the undergrowth is very thorny and prickly.
Memorial Park was traditionally an oak savannah, but the understory has grown and taken over so baby oaks are no longer able to prosper, Seeboth-Wilson said.
"We are trying to restore this land back to what it would have been like as a native community," she said. "If we can restore this to the way it historically was, certain wildlife can come back to campus ... It's a perfect solution to a complicated problem."
Making the dairy goat industry more profitable is another hope, Montgomery added, especially since many of her students "want to go into the industry."
"Not very profitable" is how Montgomery described this industry at the present, adding the region needs a better market for goat meat, especially since, as Seeboth-Wilson put it, the area is in a "hotbed of goat dairy farms."
"We can make it taste good," said Montgomery, adding the college now has the ability to prove it.
To bring the project to its present state, a senior-level class taught by Montgomery began doing research on the idea, and "did interviews" with different companies that rent out goats to see which would be the best fit, she said.
This project has given the students the ability to "learn as they're doing," she added.
The herd will have a 20-day trial period; if the test goes well, Montgomery said, she hopes to keep a herd of goats at the university "semi-permanently."
The goats can be bought in the spring and raised at Pioneer Farm for a time, Montgomery said. During the summer, individuals involved in the program can "rotate them around" between several fenced areas to promote rotational grazing. In the fall, the goats can be slaughtered for food.
Rotational grazing will also help encourage the goats to eat the plants they're supposed to, Seeboth-Wilson said.
"Different goats will be picky" about the food they eat, she said.
However, she added that as long as the goats "clear the understory," the university representatives are "not terribly picky" about what they eat.
"Fence off the trees you want to grow ... fence them (the goats) in a smaller area," or "use manpower" to control the goats' diet are other ways Montgomery said the goats can be encouraged to eat what they're supposed to eat.
Keeping the herd on campus during the winter isn't currently a possible. "We don't own the facilities" that would be required to house the goats year-round, Montgomery said, adding that they wouldn't be able to "feed them over winter" because of the expense.
However, Montgomery said it may be possible to maintain some "permanent (goat) residents" in the future, possibly by keeping these animals at a student's farm during the cold season.
Seeboth-Wilson and Montgomery agreed that the project had been going well so far, beginning with the fact the goats haven't escaped, especially after last week's severe weather.
"Nothing has spooked them yet," Montgomery said. "I would say it's a success."
Seeboth-Wilson agreed. Within the first week of the project, she said they had seen a "huge difference" in the landscape already.