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Facts About Alpacas
Origin: Native to Andean
mountain range of South America and primarily
found in Peru, Bolivia and Chile
History: Domesticated more than 5,000
years ago; first imported to the U.S. in 1984
Abundance: About 3 million worldwide;
more than 80,000 registered alpacas in the U.S.
Life span: Average of 20 years, with an
111/2-month gestation period
Measurements: 100-200 pounds, 3 feet tall
at the shoulder blades
Description: Short and low-set tail; soft
padded feet with two toes; no horns, hooves,
claws, incisors or upper teeth; they chew their
cud and have three stomachs
Acreage: Can be pastured at 5 to 10 per
acre
Behavior: Social; herd animals that
communicate by soft humming
Diet: Grass and hay
Care: Sheared without harm every 12 to 18
months; require annual vaccinations, routine
parasite control and occasional nail and teeth
trimming
Cost: $1,000-$250,000, with an average
cost of $12,000-$30,000 for females
Fiber: An adult alpaca can produce 50 to
90 ounces of first-quality fiber and 50 to 100
ounces of second- and third-quality fiber per
shearing.
Color: Alpaca fiber comes in 22 natural
tones.
Fiber value: Raw fiber commands $2 to $5
per ounce. Each stage of the process (cleaning,
carding, spinning, knitting and finishing) adds
value to the fiber. As a finished garment, it
can sell for $10 per ounce.
Hand-knit goods have sold for up to $1,000 for
the finished product.
The Associated Press |
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Americans raise alpacas
to change fabric of life
The fashion world may
seem a long way from the barn. But an increasing number
of people are leaving behind their high-stress jobs and
turning to alpaca farming as a low-key yet lucrative
venture resulting in designer goods that boast the
softness of cashmere and the warmth of wool.
Raising alpacas – a South American farm animal that
looks like a puffy cross between a llama and a sheep –
has become a fast-growing lifestyle choice for people
who are ready to slow down or who want to try their hand
at crafting designer fashions with the luxury fabric the
creatures produce.
“Being on the corporate treadmill gets old after a
while,” said Maggie Wright, a software analyst who
started raising alpacas on her farm in Pennsylvania
after “falling in love” with the bug-eyed animals on a
trip to Peru four years ago.
On the slopes of their native Andean mountains, alpacas
are raised for their fleece, a soft and lanolin-free
fiber that is often compared to cashmere, with the added
bonus of being hypoallergenic.
Increasingly, upscale department stores such as Neiman
Marcus and prominent fashion designers like Giorgio
Armani, Marc Jacobs and Ralph Lauren feature 100 percent
alpaca or alpaca blends in their fashions, ranging in
price from $28 for a lightweight sweater purchased
online to $395 for long designer sweaters at a high-end
retail outlet. Hand-knit items sell for much more and
often exceed $1,000.
THE AMERICAN WAY
The United States opened its doors to alpaca imports in
1984, and the fledgling industry here is still primarily
based on building and improving the national herd.
American farmers focus on breeding baby alpacas, or
crias, and they profit from selling these carefully
cultivated youngsters with the most desirable qualities
– dense fiber, coveted coloring, proportional body
composition and gentle temperament. Top-quality
herdsires can command more than $250,000, with the
average price tags running from $12,000 to $30,000 for
bred females.
But beyond the investment potential and tax breaks,
alpaca owners say it’s the laid-back lifestyle of
raising the curious creatures and creating homegrown
alpaca goods that really drew them to the business.
EASING INTO RETIREMENT
Alpacas’ relatively small size, lack of upper teeth and
generally docile temperament make them easier to handle
than many farm animals. And the fact that breeders can
turn a profit without killing them for meat makes
alpacas an attractive option for those who are not so
comfortable with the less cute and cuddly side of farm
life.
Wright, 45, maintains her career in information
technology while living on the farm with her 11 animals.
Her plan to grow her herd for seven to 10 years until
she is able to live solely off alpaca sales is typical
of many breeders, who use alpaca breeding as a way to
phase into retirement.
Lynne Johnson, 57, who boards nine alpacas at Sauk Creek
Alpacas in Verona, Wis., calls raising the animals “my
retirement plan and my plan for retirement.”
She works as senior director of external relations for
the University of Wisconsin Foundation and hopes to
retire in about three years – earlier than she’d be
leaving if she didn’t have a herd of alpacas to tend to
when she does.
Until she rides off into the sunset with a dozen or so
alpacas by her side, taking time out of her busy work
schedule to watch them graze “is a huge stress
reliever,” she says. “They seem to sense when I’ve had a
rotten day. Being around them just lowers my blood
pressure.”
FLEECE TO FIBER
As the American flock grows, farmers are beginning to
take more interest in building a domestic fiber
industry. The Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association,
the pre-eminent industry organization, estimates that
there are about 80,000 alpacas spread between 400,000
farms across the country, but setting up full-scale
fiber mills might require an alpaca count in the
millions.
Alpaca owners who want to take advantage of their
animals’ fleece can enter the fiber industry on three
levels: as part of a national co-op that strives to
build a large-volume industry; by contributing to
specialty craft and boutique stores; and by spinning
alpaca yarn into sweaters, scarves and other garments in
their own homes.
With a farm store displaying everything from soft alpaca
blankets to bright fleece finger puppets right in the
corner of her living room, Wright will participate in
the business on all three levels.
She sends her fiber to The Alpaca Fiber Cooperative of
North America Inc., which partners with existing textile
mills, sharing equipment for making clothing, and looks
for other uses for coarser fibers such as felting, rugs
and stuffing.
LOOKING AHEAD
“We’re crawling before we walk, but our vision is to
bring dependable, meaningful income to farmers,” said
co-op president Daryl Goodrich.
Wright also has an eye toward the fashion boutiques, and
partners with the online store Inca Fashions, opened in
1999 by alpaca farmer Kim DeVos, to bring contemporary
styles to alpaca products. Last year she saw a 70
percent hike in online sales, an increase she attributes
in part to the optimistic attitude that goes along with
alpaca culture.
“The other day a man tried on one of my golf cardigans
and said, ‘I feel like I’m in college again,’” said
DeVos, whose farm is in Fresno, Calif. “With trusted,
durable apparel, we’re creating that tangible connection
to the past while looking ahead to the future.”
Wright’s real dream, however, is to set up a spinning
studio at home and put together her own alpaca products.
She’s saved the first fleece from the first baby born on
the farm to work with – all she needs now is to learn to
weave.
In the meantime, she’s bringing the skills she picked up
in the corporate realm to the world of alpacas. She used
her knowledge of graphic design to make yarn labels for
a fellow breeder, noting that kind of carry-over from
breeders’ former professions isn’t uncommon. A fellow
breeder and engineer designed a hay feedbag for alpacas,
and Pennsylvania optometrist Christian Howard likes to
use his medical expertise to study alpaca genetics
before making breeding decisions.
Raising alpacas suits those who want a lifestyle change
but are creative enough to apply outside skills to the
evolving industry, said Jerry Miller of The Alpaca
Owners and Breeders Association. The association reports
a surge since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in
the number of career-switchers who now raise alpacas.
“People were feeling an urgency in wanting a change of
lifestyle,” he said.
Wright isn’t surprised that the lifestyle she and others
chose is alpaca breeding.
“Going to the bar until 2 a.m. has no meaning for me,”
she said. “But going to the barn when a new baby is
being born – or anytime they’re there – that’s real
somehow.” |
