Flocks of white, black and brown geese hunt for snails and bugs as they patrol the vines at a winery within the South African wine city of Stellenbosch, serving to homeowners keep away from artificial fertilizers and pesticides.
Round 500 Indian rattling geese work as pure pest management at Vergenoegd Löw Wine Property, however additionally they entertain wine-drinking vacationers.
“We name them the troopers of the vineyards,” the property’s managing director, Corius Visser, advised Reuters.
Geese are on the coronary heart of the vineyard’s regenerative agriculture practices, and particularly the Indian rattling geese, which have lengthy legs and an upright posture, that means they will attain for snails among the many leaves.
Nutrient-rich manure from the geese and different animals ensures that the winery is run as sustainably as doable.
A duck keeper guides a flock of Indian Runner geese, which assist as pure pest management, as a substitute of pesticides by consuming all snails and bugs, to the winery throughout their every day patrol round Vergenoegd Wine Property, in Stellenbosch, on the Cape Metropolis, South Africa. (REUTERS/Esa Alejandro)
Following their chief, the geese march in a convoy via the vines.
“It is wonderful how they behave, they stroll in single file and it is like they’re within the military,” mentioned Merle Holdsworth, a vacationer.
The geese comply with a every day routine: within the morning, they go to the vineyards to keep away from injury to the crops, and at evening they return to their paddocks to peck at pellets of nutritious fowl meals.
Hardworking Yodell Scholtz has been elevating geese for the previous two years.
“It is nearly like elevating your individual children, so I actually get pleasure from it,” Scholtz mentioned.
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