The United States is at what some may term full capacity employment and with that comes the high price of labor.  As a matter of fact, some municipalities have instituted a $15 per hour minimum labor rule.  So, what happens if you have a cemetery to maintain and limited funds for capital equipment or just can’t afford the $15 per hour minimum wage rule?

Laurel Grove North Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia, is launching a pilot program that you can read about here.  Last week they began the pilot program of renting 53 goats from Atlanta based Get Your Goat Rentals in order to cut down on heavy vegetation in the cemetery.  In the case of Laurel Grove Cemetery the land is mostly shrubs and grasses and is soggy because of a high water table which makes it difficult to get equipment in.

According to the article the goats are able to mow down vegetation at a rate of two acres per week.  Laura Walker, Savannah’s Environmental Director was quoted, “The goats are definitely cost-effective here in comparison to deploying manual labor.”

Cemetery Director Richard Gerbasi added, “It’s too much for our staff. . . .It’d be too costly and time consuming, and we’ve got a a few hundred acres of cemetery to maintain.  This was a great opportunity and I’m glad they’re (the goats) are finally here.”

The article ended by welcoming the public to come and watch the hooved landscapers work during the cemetery’s operating hours.

Funeral Director Daily take:  I thought I had seen everything.  However, I have not seen the results of the goats so I am certainly not in a position to criticize this maneuver.

It brings me back to a time several years ago when I was re-entering the United States from a trip abroad.  The customs agent had a cute beagle dog that was sniffing the luggage for contraband.  I remember telling the agent he was a cute little thing and the agent responded to me by saying, “Yep, and he has a better health plan than either of us too.”

All kidding aside, this project in Savannah may make sense considering that some cemeteries lack the funds to properly maintain their facilities.

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