A vineyard in South Africa has thousands of employees that live, eat, and work on site. Yet housing isn't a problem for these workers because they're small, feathery, and dedicated — and they happen to be ducks.
For the Vergenoegd Wine Estate in Stellenbosch, the ducks solve the problem of pest control and allow the winery to avoid use of harmful pesticides on its grape vines, according to the short documentary film makers behind Great Big Story. "The ducks are not dangerous, they are natural pest controllers on the farm," says Denzel Metthys, a duck farmer at the vineyard who oversees the ducks' day-to-day activities.
These feathered friends are fed and cared for in the morning before they parade into the vineyards to get to work. The ducks patrol 50 square meters of land at a time, eating snails and bugs that could potentially ruin the wine grapes. The vineyard keeps around 1,100 ducks for this task and another 300 for breeding. It also invites guests to come watch the "duck parade" as the pack heads out to the vineyards.
• Got a Pest Problem? Call the Quack Squad [YouTube]
• All Wine Coverage [E]
