Toyota Deploys Army of Sheep For Landscaping at West Virginia Plant

Although Toyota’s West Virginia plant is in a town called Buffalo, you won’t see any bison. But you will see sheep. 

Toyota deployed a herd of 20 sheep to maintain the plant’s 5-acre solar array. The “lambscaping” crew is the company’s newest environmental initiative, Toyota said.

The hungry sheep are doing important work as they munch on the tall vegetation. If weeds or grass grow too high, it prohibits the solar panels from working effectively to create power. A single sheep can pack away 4 pounds of grass in a single day.

The flock of grass-eating sheep has a smaller carbon footprint than that of commercial mowers and doesn’t pose a risk of damaging equipment, the way a mower does when it spits rock and debris, the company said. 

“To continue to be great stewards of our environment, we have to embrace new ideas and creative ways of thinking,” said David Rosier, Toyota West Virginia President. “This program helps us save money, lower emissions, support local farmers, and do one more thing that puts us in harmony with nature.”

The sheep will be on site from April through October under the watchful eye of a guard dog behind a locked, fenced enclosure.

The addition of sheep is in step with other initiatives Toyota West Virginia has launched, including a biodiversity park with forest and wetland habitats, a pollinator garden, an outdoor classroom, bird houses, bat houses, and a nesting platform to support avian species in the area, the company said.