WE’RE A FULL SERVICE ESTABLISHMENT

U.S. Rake Force was established in 2021. We're not just a goat grazing, forestry maintenance, soil-amendment and biochar production company, we're a social purpose corporation dedicated to providing our veteran and civilian employees a “comfortable-wage” for regenerative work on the land.​

GOAT GRAZING

Why goats? 

1. Because they're f*cking awesome. 
2. They are genetically driven to clear brush that impedes a forest's health and prevents access for forest maintenance. 
3. Since they are ruminants (they have four stomachs) their manure is a consistent size and nutrient level, immediately improving soil health and fertility. 
4. When herded over large spaces at an appropriate pace, goats can reduce invasive populations and many noxious weeds whilst increasing and fostering biodiversity. (Rake Force is looking for a Few Goat Men, email us for training opportunities OR for a recreational goat hike.) 
5. When contained in smaller spaces, goats can “clear” land down to the surface for a more manicured look.

Do you have a mission for U.S Rake Force Goat Squadron?
Our rates: 15 dollars a day per goat, 25 dollars per hour for herder, +fuel, setting up fence is just labor part of herding.

FORESTRY MAINTENANCE

Rake Force's specialty is helping forests reach their optimal level of health, increasing it's potential for carbon sequestration, and building soil health and fertility. 

• Ladder-fuel reduction; Removing the lower branches on trees so that in case of wildfire, flames do not reach the tops of trees. 

 

• Deadfall reincorporation or removal; removing excess deadfall we reduce a footprint in which a fire can build strength. Once removed, that deadfall can be turned into usable timber, hugelkultur, or dried for future biochar production.

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• Critter habitat creation/conservation; by placing deadfall and forest debris in appropriate configurations and at the correct location, creating critter habitats increase populations that aid in the increasing of biodiversity and a forest's health. Conserving snags and large decaying logs for wildlife habitat​

• Sustainable thinning practices; brush and timber density are the two factors that can contribute the most to a cluttered ecosystem with high-fire risk. By removing thin, sickly, and overly dominant species, we clear canopy to increase sunlight penetration and air flow. Visibility also increases, as does aesthetic appeal and property value.

SOIL AMENDMENT

From our own sites and operation sites, we produce and gather various manures, vegetation, and wood types for composting and soil building. We also gather biomass (manures, vegetation, and wood types) from community members, donors, businesses as well as municipalities. Mixing both on-site biomass sources and the nearby available biomass builds a diverse set of microbe populations that can, with proper application, rejuvenate barren or nutrient-deficient land into rich and fertile soil. We have seen that it is possible to dramatically improve soil health in the span of one season.

BIOCHAR PRODUCTION

​Using our Ring Of Fire kilns, and our homemade 55 gallon drum kilns, we gather woody debris, forest waste, and non-usable timber to produce biochar. We use biochar to remediate pollutants, improve water retention, build soil health, increase both micro and macro biodiversity, and to help landscapes more efficiently sequester carbon. We only use natural and unprocessed wood gathered from our forestry operations when producing biochar.

​We never burn pallets, treated lumber, or any other kind of non-wood substance (such as garbage, plastics, or tires). Some other folks do, but we won't. The molecular structure of biochar is altered if the wood is processed in almost any way and the potential for the biochar to perform well is decreased. Since we are going to applying the biochar for the purpose of aiding organic growth, maintaining a natural molecular structure enables the soil to build and perform optimally, creating an ideal environment for soil microbes.

We do not log for the sake of value added product production. Our thinning operations are solely motivated for increasing forest and soil health, and protecting local communities from catastrophic fires. Hazardous fuels reduction provides the feedstock for our value added products. 

We manage slash piles that have been abandoned on clear-cut landscapes and commercial operations. Not only do these enormous piles create an unnaturally high fire risk, large piles of rotting wood produce methane. Traditionally these piles are set ablaze during the wet season, creating lots of smoke plumes and releasing massive amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere. 

​We mix our biochar with composts and apply it on-site or an adjacent hyper local location. We don't just make a bunch of biochar and let it sit in a warehouse, waiting to be transported to some other locale. Ideally, char is applied on the land from which it was made – when not possible, it is applied to a nearby locale within the bioregion.

Let's talk about your project

ADDITIONAL SERVICES

Community Workshops and Commercial Consultations.
Rake Force can host events on our sites or lead workshops in your community focusing on forest maintenance and health, site consultation and design, biochar and soil-amendment production, community development, and the creation of Biomass Utilization Campuses.​

Development of Biomass Utilization Campuses (or BUCs)
Rake Force defines a Biomass Utlization Campus as a educational production site in which diverse kinds of biomass can be aggregated from various commercial and private sources at a large scale. These sources can then be composted or mixed to later be reincorporated into an appropriate ecosystem. Each step of this process can be educational and workshopped to the public as well as used as a consultation service to privately-owned companies and government agencies.