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Diversifying? Alpacas could create more revenue

By MEGGIE I. FOSTER
Assistant Editor

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. — During a time when many farm operators are looking at ways to diversify production, the alpaca industry hopes to shed new light on how these friendly, furry creatures can not only provide companionship, but an extra income.

To facilitate a learning environment for interested Hoosiers, the Indiana Alpaca Assoc. (IAA) will offer an educational symposium this Saturday, April 17 at the Hamilton County Fairgrounds in Noblesville, Ind.

“Our hope is that through this event, we will help raise awareness about our organization, as well as provide an educational event that offers a great deal of value to our members,” said Tom Flanagan, president of IAA and owner of Hoosier Homestead Alpacas in Fortville, Ind. “We will have speakers from the State Department of Agriculture (ISDA), Purdue University and the Department of Tourism – all presenting topics that are relevant to alpaca farmers.”

Specific speakers will include: Gina Sheets, ISDA; Kathy Johnson, graduate student in parasitology research at Purdue University; Dr. Joan Fulton with Purdue New Ventures; Jim Tomaszek, with the North American Alpaca Federation and Brian Blackman, development director for the Indiana Department of Tourism.
“I’m very much looking forward to networking with fellow alpaca owners and listening to the excellent lineup of speakers,” added Flanagan, who expects approximately 100 to attend the event.
Additionally, the symposium will feature several vendors that offer products and services of interest to alpaca owners including Kokomo Energy, a wind energy group; Purdue University’s alpaca donor program; Natural Resource Conservation Service of Hamilton county; Kathy Kowal shearing; and WindChime – displaying fiber and wood products.

Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. and the program is expected to conclude by 5 p.m. Lunch will also be provided, so advanced registration is encouraged. To register or for more details on the event, contact Flanagan at 317-363-8431.

Why alpacas, anyways?

While the event will cater to both new and existing alpaca owners, many folks may be wondering what’s the hype behind alpacas in the first place.

According to Flanagan, alpacas can provide an extra source of income if utilized appropriately, through the sale of fiber, breeding services, animals for show or breeding and alpaca manure for use as a fertilizer.

“Alpaca manure can be used as a soil drench to spread on gardens and lawns, and it is nontoxic and safe for children,” said Flanagan’s wife Mary Beth, who recently launched Green Soil Solutions to market manure-based fertilizer from their 20 alpacas.

“It’s nutrient and microbe-based. We use it on all of our pastures and you can just see how they’ve gone wild with growth.”
The Flanagans began their business of raising alpacas in 2007, more or less as the result of a joke.

“We were looking for a reason to keep the farm in the family,” added Flanagan, who mentioned that the farm has been in the family since 1836. “Someone … I think it was our 92-year old grandfather, who cracked a joke about raising buffalo or alpacas.”
Before they realized it, the Flanagans began researching how to make money with alpacas.

“We did a lot of research and visited a lot of farms before we made our first purchase,” said Flanagan. “One of the neatest things we found out about alpacas is their reproductive genetic potential. For cattle and horses, it can take several years to dramatically improve genetics. With alpacas, it only takes one year to ‘breed up.’”

The gestation of an alpaca is 11.5 months, and a female can be rebred within 2 weeks of having her baby, or cria as it is referred to in the alpaca world.

Flanagan defined the advantage in ‘breeding up’ as “the baby (or offspring) is going to carry the best qualities of both dam and sire, immediately.”

Mary Beth added a common misconception about alpacas is that they spit similar to their cousin - the llama.

“In my opinion, alpacas are much more docile, they will rarely spit on humans,” said Mary Beth, who explained that occasionally a male alpaca will spit on his comrades if riled up.

She also explained that alpacas are much smaller than llamas with the average weight staying close to 150 pounds, while llamas weigh in at an average of 350 pounds.

Another key differentiating characteristic of the alpaca from the llama is the alpaca’s fleece, a lustrous and silky natural fiber, according to Mary Beth. While similar to sheep’s wool, it is warmer, not prickly, and bears no lanolin, which makes it hypoallergenic.
“Most people who are allergic to wool are allergic to the lanolin in the wool,” said Flanagan. “There is no lanolin in the alpaca fleece.”
As far as the sale of breeding or show animals, the price tag on an alpaca can range from $500 to $800 for an animal used primarily for its fiber and up into the $1,000 to $10,000 range for breeding or show animals.

“There is quite a price difference for fiber and breeding animals,” explained Flanagan.

But above all, Mary Beth, who mentioned they have also owned horses and cattle in the past, loves the attitude and playfulness of the alpacas.

“These guys are so easy to handle,” she said. “I retired as a teacher after 30 years, this is what I do now – I love these guys, their curiousity and sweet disposition. They are just fun!”

4/14/2010