Goats Take a Bite Out of South Knox Kudzu

“Stop the car! Pull over!” I yelled to my husband Tommy on Friday evening just past Gay Street Bridge’s south landing. “There are GOATS!”

Sure enough, a herd of goats was happily grazing on the scrubby plot between Sevier Avenue and Council Place. We weren’t the only rubberneckers. A handful of others had stopped on the sidewalk to enjoy the delightfully absurd sight of goats living their best downtown life inside the temporarily fenced Baxter Properties-owned lot.

A sign identified them as belonging to Knox Goats, a Clinton-based eco-friendly alternative vegetation management company. Its workforce, comprising upwards of 150 goats, specializes in clearing invasive species, particularly kudzu.

First, a little word about kudzu. 

Some people have a weird sort of sentimental attachment to it. Yes, kudzu monsters are truly something to behold and “Jungle Arby’s” really put Knoxville on the Internet meme map. 

But, a reminder: Kudzu is not a cute, folksy, harmless Southern quirk. It is one of the most aggressive invasive plants in the United States. Introduced from Asia in the late 1800s, it can grow up to a foot a day under ideal conditions, destroying wildlife habitat and smothering trees and other vegetation beneath dense mats of vine. WUOT’s Jacqui Sieber did a great segment about it last summer: “How Kudzu Became the Vine That Ate the South.” 

I stopped by the Sevier Avenue goats again on Monday just as owner/operator Jake Ramsey and his border collie, Whiskey, were preparing to load the goats up and head home. The goats had done their part.

According to Ramsey, a herd of 65 goats can clear approximately one acre of kudzu in three days. But what happens afterward is just as important.

“There’s an art to getting rid of invasive species,” Ramsey told me. “It’s not just ‘let them graze and leave.’ There’s cleanup and afterwork.”

Once the goats have stripped the vines, crews follow behind cutting remaining growth and physically digging up roots. Two or three cycles might be needed and, in particularly stubborn cases, they’ll resort to minimal amounts of herbicide. The goal is to weaken the kudzu — “you want to hurt the plants” — enough that native vegetation can reclaim the site. 

“It’s a case-by-case basis,” Ramsey said. “How much kudzu is there? How much growth? How long has it been allowed to thrive? That all factors in.”

The company currently manages three working herds. They tackle projects ranging from residential lots to large commercial properties.

One ongoing project near Riverside Drive has become something of a success story. Ramsey said the seven-acre site was once completely blanketed in kudzu. After two years of goat-assisted management, grass is now emerging beneath what remains of the vine.

“When we went there, it was just one solid blanket of kudzu,” he said. “Now, I’d say this will probably be our last year doing it.”

Invasive plants are everywhere, and it’s not just kudzu. From privet to Japanese honeysuckle to mimosa (whose deceptively pretty pompom flowers are currently in bloom) and other interlopers, once you learn to identify them, it’s something you can’t unsee. The University of Tennessee has a helpful guide to common invasive plants found in our region here.

In May, City Council approved the use of $80,000 in state grant funding to help tackle invasive plants across Knoxville parks, including heavily infested areas of Fort Dickerson Park near Augusta Quarry (yes, the backdrop of “Jungle Arby’s.”)

The City’s strategy, to be implemented via four contractors, involves “applying safe levels of herbicides to fight the invasives and give native species a chance to compete … Once the invasives are put in check, the City’s management plan calls for replacement plantings of native species, so long-term healthy ecosystems emerge.”

One downtown example, the City noted, can be found on the former Baptist Hospital site along the South Waterfront. Kudzu, originally planted for erosion control, ultimately worsened runoff into the Tennessee River. Through targeted removal efforts, the vine was eradicated without measurable harm to the river ecosystem. Native trees, grasses and wildflowers have since replaced it, improving habitat and reducing erosion.

They note: “The City has experimented – with limited success – with using goats to try and check the steamrolling growth of kudzu. The goats give it their best shot, but grazing doesn’t get at the deep underground root balls – some as long as a school bus. Once the goats finish their feasting, the kudzu quickly returns.”

Ramsey said he was “a little upset” that Knox Goats was not considered for the job, arguing that grazing is often just the first step in a longer management process and suggesting that previous efforts may have lacked the follow-through needed to achieve lasting results.

But hey, there’s plenty enough kudzu to go around. And we can all do our part (with Knox Goats standing at the ready to help, if necessary!). Whether you own acres or a postage-stamp yard, choosing native plants and keeping invasive species in check is one way to be a good steward of the land under your care. 

Looking for a place to start? Ijams Nature Center’s Weed Warriors Native Landscape Certification program helps homeowners identify and remove invasive species, replace them with native plants, and restore habitat on their own property. The three-level program includes educational courses, hands-on workdays and guidance from experts, with participants earning certification as they progress. The one-time cost is $35 ($30 for Ijams members). Learn more here.