Operations
Safety, Containment, and Animal Welfare
Public agencies and landowners are trusting a contractor to put livestock on their ground. These are the procedures that make that a reasonable thing to do.
Our operating procedures are designed to align with agency requirements, applicable animal-welfare standards, labor rules, and site-specific environmental conditions.
We describe procedures we operate, not credentials we have not earned. Where a specific certification, permit, or agency approval is required for a project, its status is stated honestly during procurement.
Containment
- Portable electric fencing
- Every grazing cell is enclosed in portable electric netting or wire, energized and tested before the herd is placed inside it.
- Daily fence inspection
- Fence lines are walked and the charge tested each day, and more often where a cell abuts a road, trail, or residential boundary.
- Escape-response procedures
- A written procedure covers who responds, how the herd is recovered, and how the property owner or agency is notified. Notification is not optional and is not delayed.
Supervision and animal care
- On-site herd supervision
- Herders are assigned to the herd for the duration of a deployment. Herds are not left unattended for the length of a project.
- Livestock guardian dogs
- Guardian dogs may be used to protect the herd from predators. Where they are used, signage explains what they are and how the public should behave around them.
- Veterinary oversight
- Animals are monitored daily for health and condition, with veterinary care arranged when an animal needs it.
- Water access
- Water is planned before mobilization — source, haul distance, and trough placement per cell — and checked daily.
- Shade, weather, and heat protocols
- Cell layout accounts for shade and aspect. Work is adjusted in heat events, and animals are moved when conditions require it.
- Biosecurity and animal health
- Movement between properties follows biosecurity practice appropriate to the herd and the receiving site.
- Dead-stock and emergency procedures
- Written procedures cover animal loss, injury, and emergency response, including lawful disposal and property-owner notification.
Public interface
- Road and trail signage
- Signage is placed at cell perimeters, trail crossings, and access points before the herd arrives, and maintained for the duration.
- Public interaction rules
- Signage asks the public not to feed, touch, or enter grazing cells, and explains that fencing is electrified.
- Dog-leash warnings
- Sites with public or trail access carry explicit leash warnings. Loose dogs are the most common cause of incidents on public-facing grazing sites.
- Fire extinguishers
- Vehicles and staging areas carry extinguishers appropriate to the site and the season.
Environmental protection
- Sensitive vegetation exclusions
- Sensitive species, riparian corridors, wetlands, and cultural resources identified at site review are excluded by fence placement, so the exclusion holds regardless of what the herd would otherwise browse.
- Seasonal and timing restrictions
- Where a resource agency or land manager sets a timing window, the grazing schedule is built around it rather than negotiated against it.
Project suitability, pricing, grazing outcomes, timing, and regulatory requirements vary by property and agency. A site review is required before any proposal, schedule, or performance commitment is issued. See also our animal welfare statement and environmental practices statement.
Safety questions
Are goats safe around the public?
Projects use controlled grazing zones, fencing, signage, herd supervision, and site-specific safety procedures. Public-facing sites are planned with higher inspection frequency and clearer signage than remote ground.
What about dogs?
Livestock guardian dogs may be used to protect the herd. Public-facing sites require clear signage and dog-leash controls. Visitors should not approach guardian dogs or allow their own dogs near the fence line.
Planning a fuel-reduction or vegetation-management project?
Send us the property location, acreage, vegetation type, and target schedule. We will review the project and determine whether managed grazing is a practical fit.