This business will get your goat
STORY COUNTY, Iowa -- Goats often times have minds of their own, and they’re helping to create a clever new business in central Iowa called Goats on the Go.
Goats like Kikos have a reputation for eating everything, and two friends in Story County are turning that into a new business.
"We're not doing anything that the goats wouldn't do naturally if given the chance," said Aaron Steele.
Steele and his business partner, Chad Steenhoek, said goats will provide a natural weed clearing service for any kind of overgrown property. This week they're at McFarland Lake just north of Ames.
"We're doing that without any pollution, without burning any gas, without spraying any chemicals, so it's a really good situation for everyone," Steele said.
The goats clear one small section at a time corralled by a solar-powered fence. And the animals are efficient in what they do.
"It's not most of the leaves, it's every leaf off every honeysuckle," said Steenhoek. "There's no poison ivy left. There's nothing with a broad leaf left there."
One of the best things about using the goats is that after the front end is done eating the grass and weeds, the back end produces what some would call natural fertilizer.
"You get fertilizer for free, and we produce food for consumers," Steenhoek said. "It's a double-win to use the goats."
And at about $5 a day per head, the price won't get the customer's financial goat.
Goats like Kikos have a reputation for eating everything, and two friends in Story County are turning that into a new business.
"We're not doing anything that the goats wouldn't do naturally if given the chance," said Aaron Steele.
Steele and his business partner, Chad Steenhoek, said goats will provide a natural weed clearing service for any kind of overgrown property. This week they're at McFarland Lake just north of Ames.
"We're doing that without any pollution, without burning any gas, without spraying any chemicals, so it's a really good situation for everyone," Steele said.
The goats clear one small section at a time corralled by a solar-powered fence. And the animals are efficient in what they do.
"It's not most of the leaves, it's every leaf off every honeysuckle," said Steenhoek. "There's no poison ivy left. There's nothing with a broad leaf left there."
One of the best things about using the goats is that after the front end is done eating the grass and weeds, the back end produces what some would call natural fertilizer.
"You get fertilizer for free, and we produce food for consumers," Steenhoek said. "It's a double-win to use the goats."
And at about $5 a day per head, the price won't get the customer's financial goat.