Low-tech meets high-tech

Motorists did double takes Wednesday as they drove by Medtronic CardioVascular’s headquarters on Round Barn Boulevard in Santa Rosa.

Hundreds of sheep and goats were peacefully grazing around Medtronic’s sprawling research and development complex.

In a case of low-tech meets high-tech, the creatures were noshing acres of dry grass and brush, clearing firebreaks on the company’s Fountaingrove campus.

“I’m really amazed at how much they’ve gone through,” said Adam Treiber, Medtronic’s facility manager.

Grazing is a green alternative to mechanical weed abatement, according to Brian Kirbis of Living Systems Land Management, a San Francisco company that supplies the sheep and goats.

“It creates a more viable habitat,” he said. The flocks aerate and fertilize the soil while reducing flammable grass and brush. They’ll eat invasive plants such as star thistle and Scotch Broom, creating room for native plants, Kirbis said.

They produce less noise, dust and emissions than mowers and weed whackers, he said.

The sheep and goats graze behind portable electric fences and herding dogs help move them from one spot to another. Shepherds also watch over them.

The animals — especially the goats — can chew through thick brush and reach spots too steep for hand crews, Treiber said. “They’ve been able to go in areas we haven’t been before,” he said.

About 600 Rambouillet sheep and 135 Boer goats have been grazing on 40 acres at Medtronic, consuming 3 to 5 tons a day. Each animal eats about 5 percent of its body weight in a day.

Flock sightings are becoming more frequent in suburban areas as homeowner associations, parks departments and commercial property owners use them for fire control. The animals were busy around Fountaingrove’s residential neighborhoods and Agilent Technologies’ nearby campus in recent months.

Kirbis wouldn’t say how much Living Systems charges for the service, but said it’s competitive with mechanical weed removal.

Medtronic workers enjoy seeing the animals, Treiber said. “It creates a farm-like atmosphere,” he said. “It’s a big boost for morale.”

Medtronic has about 840 workers in Santa Rosa, where it develops coronary stents, peripheral stents and stent grafts for treating artery disease and aneurysms.

Minneapolis-based Medtronic is the world’s largest medical device maker, with $14.6 billion in annual sales.