Sheep Lawn Mowers, and Other Go-Getters

Eddie Miller is the founder of Heritage Lawn Mowing, a company that rents out sheep as a landscaping aid. Pictured, Mr. Miller and two of his Jacob sheep, Panda and Nerd, walk to their truck after a job mowing a lawn. Photo by Randy Harris.

“Building a new America will require an understanding of farming,”

By Kevin Roose
New York Times
November 2, 2011
Oberlin, Ohio

Excerpt:

In this verdant lawn-filled college town, most people keep their lawn mowers tuned up by oiling the motor and sharpening the blades. Eddie Miller keeps his in shape with salt licks and shearing scissors.

Mr. Miller, 23, is the founder of Heritage Lawn Mowing, a company that rents out sheep – yes, sheep – as a landscaping aid. For a small fee, Mr. Miller, whose official job title is “shepherd,” brings his ovine squad to the yards of area homeowners, where the sheep spend anywhere from three hours to several days grazing on grass, weeds and dandelions.

The results, he said, are a win-win: the sheep eat free, saving him hundreds of dollars a month in food costs, and his clients get a freshly cut lawn, with none of the carbon emissions of a conventional gas-powered mower. (There are, of course, other emissions, which Mr. Miller said make for “all-natural fertilizer.”)

Read the complete article here.