Woodlot Assassins

Season 3 | Episode 9 | December 14, 2022

Interfering vegetation, be it native or invasive, is a real headache for foresters. Sometimes we wind up wishing for one more tool in the toolkit when none of the current ones seem to fit. Luckily, some foresters are innovating and exploring new options. Some are turning to the oldest tool we have: grazing. In this episode we explore the world of targeted goat grazing with Brooke Hushagen and Greg Haak of HaakHagen Goat Grazing.

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GUESTS ON THIS EPISODE

Greg Haak

Co-owner, HaakHagen Goat Grazing

Haak grew up on a dairy farm just south of Madison, Wis. He majored in wildlife ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. After college he began working for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources at the state game farm in Poynette, which raises pheasants for public hunting. The goat business started with conversations at lunch with Brooke Hushagen in winter 2015. They have slowly grown their goat numbers each year since and have around 100-110 goats now in the summer.

Brooke Hushagen

Co-owner, HaakHagen Goat Grazing

Brooke grew up on a dairy farm near Viroqua in southwestern Wisconsin. She earned an associate of applied science degree at Vermilion Community College in Ely, Minn. After college she worked at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources doing regeneration surveys in pine plantations in northern Wisconsin. She later worked on a timber marking and fire crew for the U.S. Forest Service on the Chippewa National Forest in Walker, Minn. She has worked for the Wisconsin DNR DNR as a forestry technician in Poynette for the past 22 years. Discussions over the lunchroom table led to starting the goat grazing business with Greg Haak in 2016.

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Episode Show Notes

HaakHagen Goat Grazing
HireGoats.com: A directory of all goat rental companies in the world.

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Woodlot Assassins