# Pa. school district turns lawn care over to sheep



## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

Very cool  But I can see some folks not being happy about this ...

A central Pennsylvania school has a woolly plan to keep its grass neatly trimmed.

The Carlisle Area School District says it can save up to $15,000 a year by turning over some landscaping chores to sheep.

The Patriot-News of Harrisburg reports the district is using the sheep to keep the grass near its solar panels neatly trimmed. The sheep nibble grass in the morning and take refuge in the shade of the panels in the afternoon.

With the food already on hand, the district need only supply the sheep with water.

A middle school assistant principal is providing the sheep. Eric Sands says he's still trying to figure out exactly how many sheep he needs to use to keep the area clear.

Pa. school district turns lawn care over to sheep - Yahoo! News


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## Frugal_Farmers (Dec 13, 2010)

Brilliant
One of the local governments in Tennessee recently did a test using goats to control the out of control kudzu. Initial test went well, but haven't heard if they plan on doing it long term or not.


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## Ezmerelda (Oct 17, 2010)

Frugal_Farmers said:


> Brilliant
> One of the local governments in Tennessee recently did a test using goats to control the out of control kudzu. Initial test went well, but haven't heard if they plan on doing it long term or not.


I was just wondering the other day if goats would eat that stuff. Question answered. Gotta love this forum!


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

Ezmerelda said:


> I was just wondering the other day if goats would eat that stuff. Question answered. Gotta love this forum!


people can eat it too


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

*Andi said:


> Eric Sands says he's still trying to figure out exactly how many sheep he needs to use to keep the area clear.
> 
> Pa. school district turns lawn care over to sheep - Yahoo! News


I guess it depends on if he's worried about overgrazing or not, but here in Ohio we calculate 4 acres per grazing cow sustainably & we figure 1 cow eats as much as 6 sheep. Even then, you still have to move them around to new areas otherwise the stupid critters _*will*_ overgraze parts while leaving other parts untouched, especially if there are different grases (sheep do not like bluegrass as much as forbs, also some fescues *may* cause abortions). Mostly sheep eat grass, clover (not too much, or they get bloated), forbs, and other pasture plants. They especially love forbs. It is usually their first choice of food in a pasture. A forb is a broad-leaf plant other than grass. It is a flowering plant. Forbs are often very nutritious. As compared to cattle, sheep eat a greater variety of plants and select a more nutritious diet, but less so than goats.


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

*Andi said:


> Very cool  But I can see some folks not being happy about this ...
> 
> A central Pennsylvania school has a woolly plan to keep its grass neatly trimmed.
> 
> ...


 For a second there I could picture 80% of the nation grazing at the school.

Good idea.I hear sheep ulike goats won't destroy the pasture or lawn.


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## Davo45 (Apr 29, 2011)

Makes sense to me, the kids could learn to sheer the wool from the critters too (after some instruction with supervision of course).


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## Jason (Jul 25, 2009)

That's an excellent idea, but in this day and age it's just going to take one idiot getting hit by an electric fence and the whole thing will be off. And that's a shame because it really is such a great idea.


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

Jason said:


> That's an excellent idea, but in this day and age it's just going to take one idiot getting hit by an electric fence and the whole thing will be off. And that's a shame because it really is such a great idea.


LOL,here comes the judge.


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## philjam (Dec 17, 2008)

And, what about the first time a coyote leaves a bloody carcass for the sensitive kiddies?


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