SGF City Council Stares at Goats
FairCityNews.com | Sep 28, 2010 | Comments 0
Goat waiting for council approval
Springfield MO—People that hope to raise chickens in their backyards may soon have goats to go along with them. An attempt to allow the citizens of Springfield to have two goats on their property is being sponsored by Tom Tuttle, president of the Ozark Goat Ropers Club.
“With all this newfound evidence of growing and keeping it local, having a couple of goats in your yard is perfect for the times. Most people don’t know that goat meat is the most consumed meat in the world. When cooked right and put on a plate with some rice and Poke greens (considered a weed found in most backyards), it can be the next cashew chicken. You can also get milk and cheese from goats thus making them the complete food source,” commented Tuttle.
According to Tuttle, another benefit to having goats is they keep your yard well mowed. “You can put away all that expensive, air polluting lawn equipment. What goats do all day is eat grass so the bigger the yard the better. You can make arrangements with your neighbors to have your goats keep their yards as well chewed as your yard is. The only by product of goats is their butt waste and that can go on your garden. You certainly can’t put dog or cat poop in your garden. Goats are also children friendly. Kids will run and want to pet a goat any time as opposed to a mean looking dog,” stated Tuttle.
Ron Chaps, spokesman for the Goat Alliance welcomes the idea of having goats in the backyards of Springfield. “Raising goats with their chicken brothers and sisters is perfect for us. I look to a time when one day everything we eat will be grown locally. With a little thought and vision I see certain city blocks in town being dedicate to growing tomatoes, other blocks growing corn, green peppers, okra and squash along with goats and chickens. This was done a hundred years ago with neighbors trading and swapping vegetables and somehow we lost that. The only problem I see is trying to grow bananas in the Ozarks. I do like bananas and I’m trying to figure out how to get that done,” said Chaps.
When asked when Springfield city council will vote to have goats in the backyards of Springfield, Mayor Jim O’Neil had these comments. “We will first have to form a citizens advisory committee to study this issue for at least 3 years. Then based on their recommendations we will do our best to postpone a vote for a later time.”
Filed Under: Politics
