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Alpaca farming or ranching is a great lifestyle change from the hussle of the corporate world.
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Alpaca Shearing

What to do with all that fiber?!

Alpaca owners market and brag about how wonderful alpacas are as a fiber animal but the question that everyone has trouble answering is what do you do with all that fiber? The answer is a complicated and can really only be answered by the individual.

Questions to ask yourself:
1. Why am I getting into alpacas? Investment and breeding of animals only? Or do I want to be involved with the fiber itself?
2. Do I have a sales background? Am I able to market and sell finished product?
3. Am I a spinner/knit/crochet/felt etc? Am I able to make my own end products?

Let’s say you’re interested only in breeding alpacas as an investment and have no desire to make a profit from the fiber. There are coops out there that you can send your fiber to. Some will pay you per pound others will send you dividends from profits made by the coop. I will have a list of email links at the end of this newsletter for your review. The truth is there are only a few hundred thousand alpacas in the USA and at this moment you cannot expect to shear the fiber and send it off to magic land for a profit. If our national herd reaches 4 million like in Peru this might be a different conversation. The good news is the coops are recently becoming profitable and there are many more companies out there with business models that will start paying for raw fiber within the next 3-5 years.

The majority of alpaca owners fall in to the next category. We shear the animals, send the raw fleece to a coop or mill and have it turned into end product. These end products are then sold by you at your farm store, craft fairs, online, etc. This model usually will be profitable enough to cover the cost of the animal’s care. Whoo hoo, breaking even! Never a bad thing but remember, marketing is involved. If you just throw up a website and expect people to find you through the intangible wonders of the internet you won’t be able to sell a thing.

Lastly there are those blessed folks who are able to make their own end product. Either you know how to spin and create yarn to sell or you’re able to make usable products that the average customer would enjoy. Because you’re your own manufacture typically your % return will be greater. However, remember to weigh this against the time it takes to make a product by hand. Remember, people will only pay for the item not your time to make it. If you truly enjoy making and selling products there’s nothing more fulfilling and the customers just love it. You may be also able to sell your services to other alpaca owners.

As promised here is a list of all the places I have found so far that will either pay for your fiber or turn it into sellable end product for you.

http://www.afcna.com/ – Pays dividends to share holders who submit fiber – sells end products at wholesale

http://www.neafp.com/ – Sells end products at wholesale and below wholesale for those who submit fiber

http://www.naafp.us/ – certified sorters make high end Skeins and Duvets

http://www.elderberrycreekalpacas.com/ – Currently sells blankets at wholesale but has business model to buy fiber in future years

http://quailrunfibermill.com/custom/expertise.aspx – Sells wholesale blankets of own fiber/fiber pool

http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~llama/ingrid/index.html – Turn your 2nd and 3rd cuttings into rugs for resale

http://bhmalpacas.com/ – Process your 2nd and 3rd into hats!

List of Fiber Mills – process your raw fiber into roving, bats, yarn, socks, duvets etc. You get your own alpaca fiber back from mills, they do not go into a pool.

http://www.georgiamountainfiber.com – mill not mentioned in above list, will blend with other fibers

http://www.zwool.com/ – mill not mentioned in above list – Will do blending and will make socks from your fiber.

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Custom Dog Collars and Leashes

Dutch Hollow Acres is now able to offer custom dog collars and leashes made from alpaca fiber.

Alpaca yarn is twisted into different thicknesses of cord and braided into attractive collars and leashes for you!

Your dog will love the soft feel of alpaca oh their collar and you will enjoy the exquisite texture of alpaca in your hands using one of our leashes.

Collar
Collar

 
 

Leash
Leash

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1/22/10
I am awaiting the arrival of my new cord making machine so I can make the following without taking hours and hours to make just one!
– alpaca mecatet
-alpaca reins
– alpaca leashes
– alpaca show lead ropes for both horses and alpacas
– alpaca dog collars and more
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Shearing Day!

Interested in fiber? Visit our website Dutch Hollow Acres


Ahhhh, Finally getting that thick blanket off


Full spa treatment – pedicure


Little CoHo, pound for pound he had the most fleece. Over 4 inches of staple length on his neck alone!


Tam gets alpaca kisses.


Pink alpaca tummy.

Thank you Salmon River Alpacas who did our shearing.

In all it was a successful shearing day with great weather.  A big thank you to everyone who came to enjoy the day and help out.

Dutch Hollow Acres

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Starting an Alpaca Farm:

New Buyer’s Guide

  • Research – start your reading engines! Alpaca’s as an investment.
  • Accountant – the tax benefits from owning alpacas are fantastic and in most cases Uncle Sam will pay for a HUGE chunk of your alpaca purchase. You are also sales tax exempt when buying farm related items
  • Farm Visits – you can never visit enough farms – it’s best to buy your first alpacas from a local farm. Better yet, interview the current owners as much as their animals. They are your greatest source of information.
  • Setting up your business
    • County Clerk’s Office – Apply for a DBA $31
    • Find a bank – set up your checking account apply for an EIN
    • DBA Sole Proprietorship is the simple method but for liability reasons really consider becoming an LLC in the near future
    • Selling = Charging sales tax
  • Marketing
  • Physical Farm
    • If you already own a farm great! I have horses but alpacas need different housin/fencing than what I have for a horse. Horse owners you need to keep reading.
    • Acreage – rule of thumb – 10 animals to 1 acres – this assumes rotational grazing to keep your hay usage and worm exposure in check
    • Hay/Feed – they are easy keepers
    • Confinement
      • 4′ high fence is ok but 5′ is better
      • 7 strand high tensile fence or stock fencing
      • Welded wire is ok if topped with 1×6 boards or hot wire to keep the sex crazed boys off it
      • Woven wire is better in a 2″x4″ or Diamond mesh pattern
      • “They” will tell you alpacas won’t challenge a fence, but tell that to a hormone crazed male who wants to gobble up another male or get to a female.
      • Do your best to have a fence that will keep predators and deer out
      • Stock panels!!! Greatest thing on the planet and cheap.
        • Use these for your catch pens and smaller paddocks
        • Tractor Supply offers 16’x52″ for under $25. Staple them to a post and they can become temporary gates too
      • You MUST have catch pens and smaller paddocks. Really think about the layout of your pastures and barn before getting your alpacas
      • Alpacas are cat like in nature. Don’t expect them to come when called, be easy to catch or want to be pet or snuggled. Keep gates and catch pens in corners, it’s much easier to herd alpacas into them
  • Health
    • Find a vet first! They are harder to find than you’d think. Learn to give your own shots – It’s a LOT cheaper to buy your own supplies from valleyvet.com than it is to call your vet all the time.
    • Known your animals healthy vitals
    • Weight – buy a livestock scale $300 – $600
    • Remember – these are livestock not pets, you want to have the healthiest animal possible so they can breed and be sold so keep that body score a 5
  • Sales
    • Yes, you have to think about this before even owning one
    • !!!EVERY ALPACA IS FOR SALE ALWAYS!!!
    • I know it’s a hard concept to grasp but they are your business not your pets
    • If you have an alpaca that has hit that fuzzy spot in your heart raise the price! If someone actually buys your animal at the inflated price then great! Now go buy someone else’s favorite alpaca :o)