As the holiday season winds down, many Mainers are looking for an eco-friendly way to dispose of a Christmas tree. In addition to composting them or chopping them up for firewood, some farmers take a less conventional approach: feeding the trees to goats.
Sunflower Farm Creamery in Cumberland is open May through October and specializes in all things "goat": cheeses, yogurt, a livestream barn camera, and even goat yoga. But, there is one opportunity to see the goats in winter: by dropping off old Christmas trees in the weeks following the holidays.
Farmer Hope Hall said they've been taking Christmas tree donations from the surrounding community for years, because goats will eat anything.
"And the goats, what they do is eat all the needles off it, which gives them good nutrients that they need anyway. It's an activity for them to do in the winter, something that keeps them busy. Then they eat all the bark off it. They strip the trees until they look like a piece of driftwood. It's really kind of cool. And then in the spring, they use them to rub against, to get their undercoat out." Hall said.
"So, the tree lives a whole life cycle after people drop them off, and then we burn them at the end of our season, after the last babies are born, as kind of a celebration of all the babies arriving. So, the Christmas tree lives on long after Christmas, if you drop it off at somebody's farm."
Hall said it's important the that folks check to make sure their trees weren't treated with pesticides or artificial coloring before feeding it to the goats. And of course, no ornaments or tinsel.
"So if people feel pretty confident and they're fully stripped of stuff, they can drop by any time, check out the goats and lean them against our white fence leading up to the barn after Christmas," Hall said.
Many goat farms will take trees, but it's important to call ahead or check Facebook first, Hall said. In recent years, the novel option has become a victim of its own popularity.
Smiling Hill Farm in Gorham had to stop taking trees after they received over 1,000 of them one year, and were dealing with them well into April, a representative said.
"The growth and popularity of dropping trees off at farms for goats to gnaw on and things like that has become so widespread that actually we've seen some farms that are saying, 'Hey, we've got enough. We don't need any more.'"
Jamie Garvin at EcoMaine said that folks who are eager to donate their tree should be respectful of the farmers' space and capacity.
"These farms aren't transfer stations. They're not equipped to handle a large quantity that people are just showing up with. So, always good to check in advance first."
Farms aren't the only places taking trees: community gardens, sports teams, and some cities or municipalities will pick up and compost Christmas trees for free — folks can call their local public works office for more information.
For other eco-friendly ways of disposing of an old Christmas tree, EcoMaine launched an interactive map on their website to help people find places to drop off their used trees.