Emma and Chase Cianfichi offer Chasin Goat Grazing services in both Sonoma and Marin. [Photo courtesy Emma Cianfichi]
into a grazing business. “It’s definitely like a new business idea,” Cianfichi says. “The practice has been around forever, but the idea of being paid for grazing and that whole concept is something new. Business definitely has been good.” They have around 2,000 grazing animals. Their goats are
“We need access to water, that’s the big thing,” Cianfichi says. “We’ll supply the transportation, the fencing, the person to watch the animals and the water troughs. If we need a water wagon, we’ll bring a four-wheeler that pulls a little water wagon behind it.” They’ve been working on
Spanish Boer crosses and they use Dorper sheep. They usually take a herd of 200 animals out to grazing sites and bring their Great Pyrenees guard dogs along to help protect them. Besides livestock expenses,
around 110 properties a year with the average-size parcel around 30 acres. Cianfichi says they’ve done 200-acre jobs and they can handle even bigger parcels than that. Cianfichi says they’ll work on pretty much any size parcel, although they do have a 1-acre
Business definitely has been good
like feed and vaccinations, they maintain equipment like fencing and vehicles, and have hauling expenses and permits. They have employees who stay on site with the animals and watch over them. “Our guys are on work visas, and so you pay a monthly salary, plus their housing and the food allowance,” Cianfichi says. Even with such overhead, business has been good. “We’re profitable, and it’s looking up right now,” Cianfichi says. There’s an ever-increasing demand from landowners hoping to create a fire-resilient landscape, and operations like Chasin Goat Grazing make it easy by being mostly self-contained operations.
minimum. “We’ll do smaller parcels, but we just charge a 1-acre minimum fee,” he says. That makes it pricey and so they encourage people with under an acre to consider asking neighbors if they might want to have their property grazed as well. Cianfichi says that one reason the business runs smoothly is because of his wife Emma’s work in the office. “She makes sure we’re staying on track and keeps us organized,” he says. He’s also thankful for the guys who return year after year on work visas to help take care of the herd. “They’re awesome and definitely make it possible to be able to do this,” he says. g
—Chase Cianfichi of Chasin Goat Grazing
44 NorthBaybiz
July 2024
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