Amazon, the ultra-high-tech company that wants to deliver toothpaste and SAT prep books via toy airplanes -- okay, sorry -- drones, has gone ultra-low-tech. It's newest venture is hilariously beta: "Hire a Goat Grazer" will connect you with a background-checked goat (via it's owner) to come trim your vegetation with its mouth.
Goats are such effective gardeners because they have four stomachs, making it easier to digest cellulose from plant matter. "They are dietary 'browsers,'" writes Discover's Carl Engelking, "which means they love to feast on woody plants and shrubs like thistle, poison oak, wisteria and other plants that are annoying to weed-whack."
Amazon describes the service, which is, surprisingly, not a hoax:
Once a pro has met with you to determine if unleashing some friendly goats on your property will help you get rid of any unwanted vegetation, you'll receive a recommendation for how many goats will be loaned to you, how long those goats will keep you company, and how often a pro will come check on them to make sure they're not attempting any fancy tricks to break free from the temporary fencing that will be placed around them. As they graze, they will likely leave behind some droppings, too, and you'll get to keep this fertilizer as a friendly parting gift!
Tammy Dunakin, founder of Seattle-based Rent-a-Ruminant and participant in Amazon's program spoke with Newsweek's Gogo Lidz:
"Goats are ADHD, but they're problem solvers," she said. "They work on their own time -- goat time."
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