Sometimes, the desire to cut costs, brings oddly creative solutions.
The Indian monsoon has pretty much swept the nation, leaving behind farms, lawns and vast lands in need of a mowing. Until recently most farmers would hire labourers at an hourly rate to trim their farms, discard the unwanted weeds, and sell the chopped tall grass for a profit.
Most farmers nowadays in an effort to curb costs, go direct to their customers and just let some cattle loose. Retaining the services of local dairy farmers, this is a happy situation – the farms are “mowed” even as they get re-fertilized and the cows are fed well too.
So much so, the ever popular “gated colonies” have let in some cattle in too.
The cost – marginal to the cost of hired labour.
The upside – It’s eco-friendly, it’s economical and there need not be special perks to keep the cows going.
The downside – Fresh cut grass smells great, re-fertilized grass – not so much.