Some tests have been taken to determine the nutrient content of soil turned by exposed fire ant nests. These ants have the ability to travel farther underground and in very hot weather, 'percolate' throughout the topsoil, looking for food sources. It is believed that the ants may help aerate topsoil and bring nutrients from deeper underground than plants normally would have access to. As stated above, food sources to a colony of fire ants are almost anything, and Japanese Beetle grubs and other garden pests are easy sources to an ant colony. Also, though I have no scientific proof, I'm beginning to believe I'm benefiting from having the Fire Ants in the goat pens themselves.
Goats are close herd animals, and internal parasites are a problem in most Southern herds.
It has been discovered that worms are mutating fast enough that they are becoming immune to most of the popular anthelmenics on the market. At veterinarian suggestions, it's now routine to administer dewormers every 30 to 45 days, and change frequently the type used. Besides poisoning the parasites and creating an immunity at a much more rapid rate, herdsmen may also be eliminating ants and other residents from the soil in the corrals. Rather than give out poisons routinely to my dairy herd, I prepare a microscopic slide of fecal material and look to see if there is a heavy infestation or not. And, again, so my own 'microclimate' of insects, parasites, and host goats do not become unaffected by my chosen dewormers, I only change from one kind to another on an annual basis.