Google’s bringing back the goats.

Yes, lawn-care companies around the country are officially panicking that Google has taken what appeared to be an isolated incident–a publicity stunt–and turned it into a tradition:

More than 200 goats from California Grazing have once again arrived at our Mountain View headquarters where they’ll stay for over a week chomping away on grassy goodness. The cost of bringing in the goats is comparable to hiring lawn mowers for the same job and the green benefits are clear: the goats eliminate mower emissions, reduce noise pollution, restore plant species and fertilize while grazing.

We’ve herd rumors that Microsoft is already trying to hire some of the goats and is exploring using its own goats and outsourcing them to Yahoo.