You’re buying a what?

This is the universal response that we encountered when sharing the news with family and friends that we were about to embark on a unique farming adventure. And, quite honestly, there were times that we even asked ourselves the same question --that is, before our first alpacas came “home.” The original intention of buying some grazing animals was to spend less time mowing a field adjacent to our house. Truthfully speaking, we were looking for some cheap gardeners, and our dogs basically refused to eat the grass as we had ordered.

As fate would have it, one trip to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival would change our destiny. It was love at first sight, and our love and respect for these extraordinary animals has continued to flourish since that time.

Alpacas are in the camelid family, related to llamas and camels. Alpacas are native to South America, largely concentrated in Peru, Chile and Bolivia. They were domesticated over 5,000 years ago by indigenous people. The wool that they produce is considered to be among the finest as it is extremely soft, lightweight, durable, and hypoallergenic. Some of the most luxurious garments in the clothing industry today are made with alpaca fiber.

And what do you do with an alpaca?

Alpaca fiber comes in more natural colors than any other fiber and is widely prized by those in the garment industry, artists and individual hobbyists. They are low maintenance, fastidious, and gentle animals. One acre of land can sustain 5-10 alpacas. The investment in alpacas is advantageous from a tax standpoint as it is depreciable and compounding.