They also collect and sell flea beetles for spurge management as a fundraiser for AERO , a Montana based sustainable agriculture organization. By using sheep and flea beetles, the N-Bar Ranch has reduced its herbicide use for leafy spurge control from about 500 gallons to 10 gallons from the early 1980s to the present. Flea beetles control spurge without additional costs for labor and machinery. The ranch receives a small fee from the sheep owner for allowing the sheep graze. By introducing flea beetles to the system, there is now a natural check on the spread of leafy spurge.
Sheep contribute to the management by exerting grazing pressure on leafy spurge.
This dual herbivore system manages spurge without the need to control it using herbicides. By reestablishing the balance between the exotic weed and its herbivorous pest, flea beetles act as a permanent weed management tool .