Meet the team behind the herd
People and animals with decades of combined experience — from champion stockdog handlers to 2,500 hungry Boer goats. This is who shows up to clear your land.
Our people
Mike Canaday
Mike and Jan Canaday have 30 years of experience in ranching and training Border Collies to work livestock. We know of no other company that can match this experience using dogs and portable electric fence to control goats, cattle, and sheep.
Longtime, respected members of the Border Collie community, Mike served as President (1999–2004) of the United States Border Collie Handlers Association — the organization that sanctions the most prestigious sheepdog and cow-dog competitions in the US and Canada and runs the National Sheepdog and National Cattledog Finals. Mike is one of only a handful of handlers to place in the top ten of both.
In April 2013, Mike joined Rent A Goat as Director of Operations, bringing his vast experience, knowledge, and passion to the company.
Jan Canaday
Jan is a seasoned goat expert. She helps young kids who struggle with nursing from their moms, administers first aid to goats with minor health issues, and makes sure every animal is behaving normally and healthily.
One of the most kind-hearted people you will ever meet, Jan can often be found bottle-nursing young goats, trimming hooves, deworming, and more. She brings over 10 years of experience to Rent A Goat, and her knowledge is invaluable. It’s a hard job, but Jan makes it look easy — and she loves it, too.
Matt Richmond
Matt started the first Rent A Goat in June 2010 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, teaming up with a local farmer who owned just over 20 goats in rural Zebulon. As eco-conscious customers flocked to hire goats to clear their properties — and local and national news began covering the green service — Matt pivoted the company to connect customers with goat-grazing services across the nation.
He attended UNC Asheville, double-majoring in B.S. Health and Wellness and B.A. Psychology while graduating a year early. A dedicated volunteer, he tutored underprivileged youth with the “I Have a Dream” Foundation and later won the Student Lehrer Scholarship for community service and merit.
Matt continues his passion for service with Rent A Goat, working to solve the problems of land management and environmental pollution, and bringing a successful history of marketing and small-business management to the company.
Our animals
The real stars of the show.
The Boer Goats
Boer goats are one of the most popular goats in the world, with origins tracing back to South Africa where they were prized for their excellent meat. Known as “browsers,” they endlessly munch a wide variety of brush better than any other breed — eating up to 8 pounds of green foliage a day.
We love that their four-chamber stomachs sterilize the seeds of the plants they eat, stopping more weeds from spreading. Rent A Goat employs over 2,500 Boer goats for its land-clearing operations. Along with all the food they can eat, free medical care, paid travel, and time off make working for Rent A Goat one of the best jobs for goats worldwide.
Kate
Border Collies were first used in the Anglo-Scottish border region for herding livestock in the 1800s — the word “collie” is thought to come from the old Celtic word for “useful.” Ranked #1 in Stanley Coren’s The Intelligence of Dogs, they’re typically energetic, acrobatic, smart, and athletic.
Kate is a prize-winning Border Collie who works with Mike to herd goats when moving them to new job sites — and she’s quite good at it. A decorated cattledog, she has won many local, state, and national championships. She, and many of our other Border Collies, are the secret behind Rent A Goat’s success.
Hank
Great Pyrenees — also known as Pyrenean Mountain Dogs — are very large dogs traditionally bred to guard livestock. Shepherds have used them for hundreds of years around the Pyrenees Mountains of southern France and northern Spain; some accounts place the breed as far back as 1407 A.D. Naturally nocturnal and fiercely protective of their flock, they can still be trusted with small and helpless animals thanks to their guardian instinct.
Pyrenees like Hank are invaluable to Rent A Goat. Along with our shepherds, they help protect our goats day and night from predators. They truly are great guardians.
The Sheep Flock
While goats are great for a wide variety of land-clearing jobs, sometimes they aren’t the best choice. For large swaths of native grasses, our flock of sheep takes over. Descending from the mouflon of Europe and Asia, sheep were among the earliest animals domesticated for agriculture.
Rent A Goat employs over 500 domestic sheep for their grass-clearing ability. Have a cute preference? Be sure to inquire when scheduling. (Little-known fact: sheep wool is the most widely used animal fiber in the world.)
Goats have proven their usefulness around the world by clearing unwanted brush and vegetation. Traditional landscapers use gas-guzzling machines, harsh chemicals, or expensive manual labor — but goats simply do a better job, saving cities and governments thousands on routine brush clearing while reducing fire risk. Goats save lives.
Put our team to work on your property
Talk to a real person about your property and get a free estimate over the phone — we serve properties across California and generally require about a 5-acre minimum per project.
Call 1-858-751-GOATSee how it works