The goats return to Cement Hill

After a brief hiatus to avoid the excitement of the Independence Day fireworks, the goats are coming back to Cement Hill this Saturday (Sept 10) and will continue working to clear the property of as much vegetation as possible.

In addition, Enviro-Goat LLC has graciously agreed to provide the goats’ services to the City of Kingsport for another year at no charge.

“We would like to thank Enviro-Goat and its owner Andy Armstrong for this generous donation,” said John Rose, economic development director for the City of Kingsport. “The goats have done a great job so far and there’s no doubt they’ll finish the work in fine fashion.”

Be sure to check out This is Kingsport’s Facebook page Saturday morning for a live broadcast of the goats being unloaded at Cement Hill.

The herd of nearly 100 goats were first placed on Cement Hill last fall with one simple mission in mind – eat as much of the kudzu as they can, all in an effort to effectively clear the property for future development. Unleashing these goats is an environmentally friendly way of clearing Cement Hill without using chemicals or risking employee safety, as some parts of the hill can’t be cleared by mechanical means.

The goats are contained inside an electric fence, and as they clear sections of the hillside, the fence will move. The city asks citizens to admire the goats from a distance, as they have a job to do. Enviro-Goat, as well as city staff, will regularly check on the herd to ensure their safety.

Cement Hill is slated to become a park with walking trails and overlook spots with work expected to begin later this year.