Do goats eat scotch & french broom?

Broom is one of California's worst fire-adapted invaders — oily, dense, fast-spreading, and explosive in a wildfire. Goats browse it, particularly young plants and fresh growth, and targeted grazing is used across the state to suppress broom stands and keep burned or cleared areas from re-brooming.

Straight talk: mature broom contains alkaloids, so it works as one part of a varied diet rather than a monoculture buffet — standard herder management. And because broom seeds persist in soil for decades, control is a campaign, not an event: graze, let the seed bank flush new seedlings, graze again. Goats are ideal for exactly that repeated, patient suppression, especially on slopes where repeated mechanical work would erode the soil.

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