Fifty-nine goats from Goat Dispatch goat rental go to work eating invasive and undesirable plants at Flandrau State Park. City Planner John Knisley is proposing a similar solution for six property owners in New Ulm.

NEW ULM– Goats in the city of New Ulm? That was the idea proposed by City Planner John Knisley at the City Council Work Session Tuesday.

The idea comes from six property owners in the hillside area behind Oak Hills and Garden Terrace. Several invasive species and noxious weeds, such as Buckthorn and Garlic Mustard, have taken root on their properties and they wish to remove them in the cleanest and most effective way possible.

The answer? Goats.

“Number one, they are working all day long to help manage those weeds.” Knisley said. “Number two, it is a chemical free option to remove noxious weeds and invasive plants. You could kill buckthorn with a chemical weed killer [but] you would have to go out there and apply the chemicals yourself. With the goats they do that job for you and it is better for the environment.”

The problem facing these property owners is that, under current ordinances for the city, goats are not allowed. There are ordinances in place that have covered similar needs in the past.

“The city ordinance does not allow livestock like goats in city limits other than in agricultural zoning districts.” Knisley said. “There is a provision for sheep in the I-2 industrial city zoning districts for weed control.”

One company, Southside Auto Salvage, has used this provision yearly to remove weeds from their property. “They use the sheep so they don’t have to spray chemicals because they are close to the river.” Knisley said.

Reasons given for having a possible new goat ordinance instead of using the current sheep ordinance were two-fold. The area the property owners are in are not covered by the current ordinance, and goats are more efficient in clearing the weeds and woody shrubs faced by the properties due to their steep location.

Goats have been used for several years by the Flandrau state park to manage their invasive plants. They use around 30 goats to clean their lands, with an electric fence that keeps them from escaping. These measures have been largely successful.

“There was only one little one that was escaping periodically.” Knisley said “They figured out it had found an area of the fence where there was an [electrical] short.”

No official ordinance was put up for consideration regarding this proposition, as it was only meant to be discussed with the Council.

“We were looking for direction as to whether or not we should create an ordinance for this.” Knisley said. “They directed staff to start drafting an ordinance to allow goats for noxious weed control.”

People interested in seeing how the goats work for themselves can visit Flandrau park and observe those currently working there.