Missouri

'Land piranhas': Missouri's grazing goats offer a green solution to land and lawn care

Published

1 year ago

August 11, 2024

'Land piranhas': Missouri's grazing goats offer a green solution to land and lawn care

On a rainy Saturday in Platte City, Elizabeth and Ben Parker remove some electric fencing to create a bigger pasture for their goats to graze.

The Parkers run the North Kansas City affiliate of Goats on the Go, a nationwide organization that promotes renewable agriculture through a method called targeted grazing.

Targeted grazing fences animals such as goats in a specific area to munch on the plants growing there. The goats clear out invasive species and vegetation, ensuring land health and accessibility while contributing to healthy goat nutrition.

Ben Parker, co-owner of the North Kansas City affiliate of Goats on the Go, tends to a goat while working on a Platte City property.

“We walk the fence, the perimeter of the fence every day. We make sure that the goats have mineral and salt every day unless it’s raining,” Elizebeth Parker said. “We make sure everybody’s within the boundaries that they need. We may or may not open up a new fence so they can have more to eat.”

Goats on the Go lists five Missouri affiliates, serving the St. Joseph, Kansas City, Nevada and St. Louis areas. The goats clear about an acre every week, and affiliates including the Parkers price by the acre regardless of how long the job takes.

A few independent goat lawn care businesses also exist — Oscar Mike Goats in southwest Missouri, DeShon Target Grazing in mid-Missouri and N.E. Critters Grazers in Springfield and Nixa.

Targeted grazing as a lawn care alternative

Farmers who graze with livestock usually have a focus on the animal’s overall weight and health. Targeted grazing is a land management tool that can accomplish several goals, from removing poison ivy on school playgrounds to preserving pastures for cattle to graze on.

Margaret Chamas owns Storm Dancer Farm in Smithville. She serves as affiliate network support for Goats on the Go and the Livestock Viability Manager with Practical Farmers of Iowa.

“Not that we ignore the benefits to, or the impacts on, soil or vegetation or anything, but the main driver (of livestock grazing) is, ‘Let’s have healthy, productive animals,’” Chamas said. “When we’re doing targeted grazing, we’re looking at, ‘What do we need to do to manage this landscape?’ and the animals are just the tool that we’re managing with.”

The Parkers also have a flock of sheep, which they raise and sell for meat. This brings in revenue but also creates the need to replenish their flock.

Entering the targeted grazing business with goats has allowed them to earn a profit from their livestock without purchasing a new herd.

“That seemed to make a lot more sense to me when you put the same amount of work in, but you don’t have to raise up a whole new flock,” Ben Parker said.

A goat grazes vegetation on a Platte City property. Targeted grazing with goats is different and more profitable than grazing with sheep or livestock, because it’s primarily a land management tool with secondary benefits to the goat’s nutritional health. | Alex Cox/Missouri Business Alert

Curbing growth of invasive plants

In 2007, Glenda DeShon and her family noticed invasive plants taking over parts of their mid-Missouri farm. Discovering that goats enjoy eating some of these plants, like bush honeysuckle and autumn olive, the DeShons purchased a herd and became Goats on the Go affiliates serving the Columbia and Jefferson City area.

Since completing a project in Jefferson City’s McClung Park last year, the DeShons parted ways with Goats on the Go, creating their own business, DeShon Target Grazing.

DeShon said that fall is the ideal season for clients to bring in targeted grazers for the removal of invasive species. Around that time, invasive plants start to send nutrients from its leaves to the roots, offering an opportunity for the goats to combat the plant’s spread.

“They rear up, they’ll pull branches down, and then they will defoliate and break off the branches,” she added. “So each time we send the goats through, you know they’re doing more damage to that invasive plant.”

In Platte City, the Parkers have faced some financial difficulties with the business this year due to increased seasonal rainfall impacting farms across the state. Wet ground conditions can cause foot rot in goats, slowing the goats down considerably while grazing.

Though the Parkers chose to work with goats for their targeted grazing business, they hope to bring sheep into the mix in the future. Sheep have shorter legs than goats and are less likely to climb on low-to-the-ground equipment, like solar panels. Elizebeth Parker said this would allow the business to expand by offering targeted grazing for solar farms.

Until then, the goats remain skilled at accessing areas humans can’t and maximizing land productivity down the line by removing unwanted foliage.

“They are acrobats, ninjas, I tend to call them land piranhas,” Ben Parker said. “Because they do a very good job, and they do it quickly for the area that they’re in.”

This story was originally published by Missouri Business Alert, a fellow member of the KC Media Collective.

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Missouri

Jackson County voters sue over new congressional map after 305K petition signatures ignored

Published

8 hours ago

December 23, 2025

Press Room

Jackson County voters sue over new congressional map after 305K petition signatures ignored

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Two Jackson County voters filed a lawsuit to stop Missouri’s new congressional map from being used in the 2026 elections.

The ACLU of Missouri says the suit was filed in Cole County Circuit Court on behalf of Jake Maggard and Gregg Lombardi. Both are registered voters who live in Jackson County.

The lawsuit claims that Missouri violated voters’ constitutional rights. The state implemented the new map on Dec. 11 despite a petition with more than 305,000 signatures demanding a public vote.

“By attempting to enact the new maps despite receiving more than 305,000 signatures from Missouri voters demanding a referendum, the Secretary of State is denying a longstanding tradition, judicial precedent, and our constitutional rights,” said Tori Schafer, Director of Policy and Campaigns at the ACLU of Missouri.

What the lawsuit seeks

The ACLU said it wants the court to suspend House Bill 1. The organization has asked a judge to prevent election officials from using the new congressional map until voters approve or reject it through a referendum.

The lawsuit names Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway and Secretary of State Denny Hoskins as defendants.

According to the suit, both Maggard and Lombardi live in Missouri’s Fifth Congressional District. Under the new map, they would be moved to the Fourth Congressional District.

FILE – Missouri’s attorney general is celebrating the new congressional map, but opponents argue that the map should not be in effect.(KCTV5/Hannah Falcon)

The petition controversy

People Not Politicians submitted 305,000 signatures to Secretary Hoskins on Dec. 9, according to the ACLU. That is nearly 3 times the number required to force a public vote on the congressional map.

The ACLU argues that century-old court rulings say a referendum petition should immediately suspend a law, no verification required.

In 2017, then-Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft suspended Missouri’s right-to-work law after more than 300,000 signatures were received. His office had not yet verified the signatures or issued a certificate.

But Hoskins has taken a different approach. He said the new map will remain in effect until his office certifies the petition signatures. A process that could take until July 2026.

Timeline of legal challenges

The Missouri General Assembly approved the new congressional map on Sept. 12, 2025, during a special session.

Opponents wasted no time in filing legal challenges. By Sept. 15, 3 lawsuits had been filed along with the referendum petition.

Several lawsuits claim the redistricting process was unconstitutional. One lawsuit noted that a southeast Kansas City Voter Tabulation District was placed in both Congressional Districts 4 and 5.

The Senior Director for Redistricting at Campaign Legal Center told KCTV5 in September that this means the districts are no longer equally populated. However, Governor Mike Kehoe’s office said there was no error in the map.

FILE - A lawsuit filed against Missouri’s newly passed congressional map claims the effort is... — FILE – A lawsuit filed against Missouri’s newly passed congressional map claims the effort is unlawful and points out one southeast Kansas City Voter Tabulation District, or VTD, was placed in both Congressional districts 4 & 5.(KCTV5/Chandler Watkins)

On Nov. 12, Cole County Judge Christopher Limbaugh heard arguments over whether the General Assembly legally redrew the congressional districts.

On Dec. 12, court records indicated that Limbaugh suspended the case until the petition signatures are certified or rejected. He ordered Hoskins to preserve all signatures filed with his office.

In early November, AG Hanaway filed her own lawsuit against People Not Politicians. She claimed the organization was trying to take redistricting power away from the state’s General Assembly.

Missouri’s top Senate Democrat, Doug Beck, sent Hanaway a letter demanding she dismiss the case. Beck said she did not have the party’s consent to represent them in that way.

Ballot language dispute

On Nov. 13, Hoskins certified the official ballot title for the referendum question. The ballot language describes the old map as “gerrymandered” and says it “protects incumbent politicians.”

However, People Not Politicians filed a lawsuit on Nov. 20 that claims the summary statement is intentionally argumentative and creates prejudice.

The organization also argues that Hoskins is not authorized to draft a summary statement for a referendum.

A bench trial on this dispute is scheduled for Jan. 16 in Cole County.

FILE - Just days before the deadline to turn in signatures, a Cole County judge hears... — FILE – Just days before the deadline to turn in signatures, a Cole County judge hears arguments over whether 92,000 signatures should count.(KCTV5/Hannah Falcon)

What happens next

The court has not yet set a hearing date for Tuesday’s lawsuit.

The filing period for congressional candidates begins Feb. 24, 2026. However, with the new map in effect, they would file for the new congressional districts. This could create more complications if the map is overturned.

Missouri will hold primary elections in August and the general election in November.

Hoskins has until July 2026 to certify whether the referendum petition contains enough valid signatures. If certified, the question would go to voters in the November general election.

Hanaway and Hoskins have said they are ready to defend the redistricting in court.

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Missouri

Missouri Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 winning numbers for Dec. 22, 2025

Published

20 hours ago

December 23, 2025

Press Room

The Missouri Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Dec. 22, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from Dec. 22 drawing

03-18-36-41-54, Powerball: 07, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from Dec. 22 drawing

Midday: 5-7-3

Midday Wild: 0

Evening: 1-1-5

Evening Wild: 0

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from Dec. 22 drawing

Midday: 5-9-0-1

Midday Wild: 4

Evening: 0-3-8-5

Evening Wild: 0

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash4Life numbers from Dec. 22 drawing

07-12-22-25-27, Cash Ball: 01

Check Cash4Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash Pop numbers from Dec. 22 drawing

Early Bird: 14

Morning: 09

Matinee: 12

Prime Time: 02

Night Owl: 10

Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Show Me Cash numbers from Dec. 22 drawing

03-04-13-20-32

Check Show Me Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from Dec. 22 drawing

14-32-47-48-69, Powerball: 17

Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

All Missouri Lottery retailers can redeem prizes up to $600. For prizes over $600, winners have the option to submit their claim by mail or in person at one of Missouri Lottery’s regional offices, by appointment only.

To claim by mail, complete a Missouri Lottery winner claim form, sign your winning ticket, and include a copy of your government-issued photo ID along with a completed IRS Form W-9. Ensure your name, address, telephone number and signature are on the back of your ticket. Claims should be mailed to:

Ticket Redemption

Missouri Lottery

P.O. Box 7777

Jefferson City, MO 65102-7777

For in-person claims, visit the Missouri Lottery Headquarters in Jefferson City or one of the regional offices in Kansas City, Springfield or St. Louis. Be sure to call ahead to verify hours and check if an appointment is required.

For additional instructions or to download the claim form, visit the Missouri Lottery prize claim page.

When are the Missouri Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 3: 12:45 p.m. (Midday) and 8:59 p.m. (Evening) daily.
Pick 4: 12:45 p.m. (Midday) and 8:59 p.m. (Evening) daily.
Cash4Life: 8 p.m. daily.
Cash Pop: 8 a.m. (Early Bird), 11 a.m. (Late Morning), 3 p.m. (Matinee), 7 p.m. (Prime Time) and 11 p.m. (Night Owl) daily.
Show Me Cash: 8:59 p.m. daily.
Lotto: 8:59 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday.
Powerball Double Play: 9:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Missouri editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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Missouri

Missouri Lottery Pick 3, Pick 4 winning numbers for Dec. 21, 2025

Published

2 days ago

December 22, 2025

Press Room

The Missouri Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Dec. 21, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Pick 3 numbers from Dec. 21 drawing

Midday: 9-5-2

Midday Wild: 3

Evening: 0-5-0

Evening Wild: 9

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from Dec. 21 drawing

Midday: 3-4-0-7

Midday Wild: 0

Evening: 3-4-4-6

Evening Wild: 1

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash4Life numbers from Dec. 21 drawing

15-25-30-40-55, Cash Ball: 02

Check Cash4Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash Pop numbers from Dec. 21 drawing

Early Bird: 01

Morning: 06

Matinee: 14

Prime Time: 01

Night Owl: 10

Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Show Me Cash numbers from Dec. 21 drawing

04-07-13-22-32

Check Show Me Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

Ticket Redemption

Missouri Lottery

P.O. Box 7777

Jefferson City, MO 65102-7777

For additional instructions or to download the claim form, visit the Missouri Lottery prize claim page.

When are the Missouri Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 3: 12:45 p.m. (Midday) and 8:59 p.m. (Evening) daily.
Pick 4: 12:45 p.m. (Midday) and 8:59 p.m. (Evening) daily.
Cash4Life: 8 p.m. daily.
Cash Pop: 8 a.m. (Early Bird), 11 a.m. (Late Morning), 3 p.m. (Matinee), 7 p.m. (Prime Time) and 11 p.m. (Night Owl) daily.
Show Me Cash: 8:59 p.m. daily.
Lotto: 8:59 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday.
Powerball Double Play: 9:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Missouri editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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