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Goats Used For Christmas Tree Recycling

  •  Ky Plaskon 
Tuesday, December 30, 2014 | Sacramento, CA
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Ten miles south of Reno, 40 goats are having a post-Christmas feast, eating trees. A company called Goat Grazers is working with the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District to collect trees dropped off at fire stations in Verdi, Spanish Springs, Washoe Valley and Cold Springs.

The goal is to keep trees from being illegally dumped in the desert. Goat Grazers owner, Vince Thomas says the goats eat only the needles, which tastes like candy to them.

“Goats work a lot, they’re great employees, they enjoy coming to work, all they will do is eat and eat and eat and once they are done eating they still think they are hungry," says Thomas. 

Stripped of their needles, the trees will be used for firewood. Thomas says he's losing money on the program because it costs more in gasoline to collect the trees than he is saving in feed, but he says its worth it to prevent dumping.

He expects to feed the goats hundreds of trees by the end of the program Jan. 9.

1230-goat -2


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 Goat GrazersTruckee Meadows Fire Protection District

Ky Plaskon

Former Contributing Sierra/Reno Reporter

Ky was a contributing reporter to Capital Public Radio through June 2015.  Read Full Bio 

 Email Ky Plaskon

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