Most Little League® programs across the United States are either well underway or have at least started preparing for the start of the 2023 season. This involves organizing volunteers, opening registration, hosting player evaluations, and assisting with field cleanups. Mile High Little League in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has taken a different approach to preparing their fields for the upcoming season – Goats.
While not typically traditional for Little League fields, goats are actually used often in New Mexico to help with fire mitigation efforts as their stomachs break down the seeds of dead brush, tumbleweeds, and other plants, to ensure they do not grow back. With that in mind, it was Mile High LL Treasurer Orlando Moreno who came up with the idea of using goats to help prepare the field for the season.
“I was walking around our field, thinking of how many volunteers it would take to tackle all these tumbleweeds,” said Mr. Moreno. “If you’re able to get 20 volunteers then you have (to buy) garbage bags and dumpster rentals, trips to dump, and environmental impacts.”
So, instead, the league partnered with Galloping Goat, a local farm to provide them with goats. A total of 280 goats were used to clean up the field and it was a success according to Mile High LL President Bruce Kelley. It took about two days for the goats to finish the job and the Mile High Board of Directors were very satisfied with the job they did.
“Many members of our city council were present and took notice of how well everything went,” said Mr. Moreno. “They wanted to see how the goats worked to see if it would make sense to consider using them at other city parks.”
Mile High LL is set to begin their 65th season of Little League and now has a field that is ready to go for their players to play on. For more information on where to find your local league, visit LittleLeague.org.