Goats are back roaming around Mustang Acres along North Burke Bradley Road on the Stockton campus.
Tina Candelo-Mize, Professor of Agriculture at Delta and the adviser of the Horticulture Club, said the goats are visiting from the Manteca Farm to help graze the urban farmland.
“The goats provide an ecological service to our campus by grazing on our cover crops and our native pollinator habit plants. The purpose of cover cropping is to use a specific blend of plants to encourage nutrient and carbon sequestration in the soil. Goats eat these crops and convert it into a smaller form that can be digested by insects and microbes. This increases the biodiversity of the soil food web, and it improves the quality of our soil,” said Candelo-Mize in an email interview.
“The California native plants we have planted in the Meadow are also adapted to be grazed down by small ruminant animals in the habitats they are endemic to, so each year after the native plants have finished blooming, the goats come in and mow them down. The following spring they grow back vigorously. They also leave stems behind as they munch, which provides habitat for native insects to over-winter in,” said Candelo-Mize.
The goats help with time and resource management related to the Stockton campus farmland.
“They do all of this for us, so we don’t have to! The labor and resources it takes to mow these areas with equipment is offset by the herd. It’s also such a fun sight to see goats on campus, in an urban environment. Folks from all over campus find it relaxing and exciting to watch them graze. It’s a nice break from the norm. It’s also an opportunity to help educate our campus about what urban agriculture can bring to our community,” said Candelo-Mize.
Donald Drake, who is the farm lab manager for Delta, provides further information about the goats to the Stockton campus.
“We like to use the goats for pasture and land management. We planted a cover crop in Mustang Acres and by bringing the goats to graze (eat) it down, not only are they saving us time and energy of cutting it down, but they are helping by aerating the soil when they pull up the plants and walking around with their hoofs. One other benefit is that they leave a natural fertilizer down during their natural digestive cycle. Besides helping out soils, they provide a calming and relaxing getaway during school/work hours,” said Drake.
Students like Kaden Phat, said the goats are a great addition onto our school grounds.
“I do think goats are a good addition to the campus as they’re good for the environment and would be a good welcoming space for us to visit. I may visit them if I get the chance as well but overall it is a cool addition,” said Phat.
The goats’ reintroduction to Delta’s Stockton campus can provide an educational moment for both staff and students, although they are only to observe and not to touch (for their own safety), as well as providing environmental benefits through improved soil and land management.