Breakfast with alpacas can be unpredictable. I work as a part-time farmhand for Andes Acres, an alpaca farm in Madbury. Part of my job is to distribute breakfast three times a week. On a recent morning, as I made my rounds, a crowd of fuzzy, long-necked alpacas poked their noses through the barn door while I passed out some fresh hay. Suddenly, I felt a tug on my head — one of the more curious alpacas was pulling off my red winter hat.
Alpacas have antics to spare. I’ve broken up disputes over food dishes, made friends with adorable baby alpacas (Annie is the cutest), and been spit on more times than I can count. On alpaca farms, spit happens — so often that there’s a yellow imitation road sign saying just that in the Andes Acres barn. So does pronking — the technical term for an alpaca’s excited hopping.
Despite the spit and mischief, getting to know alpacas is fun. In New Hampshire, there are more opportunities than ever to do so. According to the state’s Division of Animal Industry, alpacas can be found on 132 farms in New Hampshire, with a handful of those farms dedicated to raising alpacas. The 2012 U.S. Department of Agriculture’s census counted 2,092 alpacas in the state, about 500 more than in 2007 — a lot of potential fuzzy hat thieves. Caring for alpacas can be a hobby or a job, but, for many alpaca farmers in the state, it’s a lifestyle.
Charlie Weinmann up close with an alpaca at Andes Acres (photo by Alyssa Grenning)
A huggable investment
One afternoon in 2003, Linda Westgate and Vickie Herring made a life-changing decision. Herring was reading the financial section of the Sunday paper when she came across the headline, “Huggable Investment.” Herring admits she had no idea what an alpaca was before reading the article. But, once she finished, she was excited. Three months and one auction in Vermont later, she and Westgate were the proud owners of their first three alpacas. Within three years, they doubled their herd by breeding the animals they had.
Herring and Westgate own Andes Acres Alpacas, an eight-acre farm home to 34 alpacas. Although they both work full-time jobs, their passion for alpacas has become a defining part of their daily lives.
“We knew we wanted a farm, but we knew we couldn’t kill anything, so we couldn’t raise beef or pork or turkeys,” Westgate said. “When we found alpacas, it was great. They’re an easy keep, they’re easy to handle, and all we have to do is shear and feed them and clean up after them. It allows us to put the land to good use.”
Shearing, feeding, and cleaning up after a herd of alpacas may sound like a lot of work, and it certainly can be at times. But, for alpaca owners, the work becomes part of a routine, and the incentives outweigh the labor.
It helps that alpacas are easy to be around. Their personable, curious character makes them fun to interact with, their use of communal dung piles makes daily cleanup much easier, and their padded feet don’t dig up soil like hooves. Another benefit is that the federal government considers them assets — owners can depreciate the animals over a seven-year period. This includes expenses for taking care of them.
Aside from being a tax write-off and extremely huggable, alpacas are also a moneymaker. As the months grow colder, an alpaca’s coat grows thicker, and by springtime, it’s time to shear off the valuable fleece. Alpaca fiber is a fine, thin, semi-hollow material that acts as a great insulator. It contains no lanolin — the substance in wool that causes some people to have allergic reactions. A single alpaca can yield four to eight pounds of fleece, depending on the density.
“(Alpaca farming is) back to nature, it’s earth-friendly … it’s a sustainable business because of the end product.” — Vickie Herring of Andes Acres
Like other New Hampshire alpaca farms, all of the fiber from Andes Acres goes into the New England Alpaca Fiber Pool, where the fiber is processed, shipped to commercial mills across the country, and made into goods. Farms that contribute to the pool receive the end products — hats, mittens, socks, blankets, and even stuffed alpaca dolls — and then sell them at local events, farmers markets, and so on.
“The alpacas are a great addition to what’s going on at those venues,” Herring said. “It’s back to nature, it’s earth-friendly … it’s a sustainable business because of the end product.”
The total alpackage
Alpaca farming is a global industry. In the United States, Washington, Ohio, and New York are the top three alpaca-raising states. New Hampshire farmers are focused on both community and business. At Green Alpaca Yurts in Strafford, you can even spend the night on an eco-friendly alpaca farm.
Carol Karsten, owner of Hidden Hill Farm Alpacas in Antrim, said alpaca farms in New Hampshire tend to be smaller in herd size and more family-focused. But Karsten’s alpacas are more than just pets. She breeds her animals with the intention of producing her own “ideal alpaca, in terms of both correct physical structure and fleece,” and she shows them around the country. She carefully “style edits” the best animals and develops a seed-stock program that attracts serious, experienced breeders.
Alpacas do not shy away from the camera (photo by Charlie Weinmann)
According to Karsten, while many New Hampshire alpaca breeders sell locally in the region, farms like hers with a national reach are the exception.
“What New Hampshire breeders can and should capitalize on is the fact that we truly do live in a fiber-artist state,” said Karsten. “Demand for alpaca fiber should be higher here than elsewhere. … While there is no doubt that the fabric of New Hampshire is changing, we still are heavy on rural character.”
For small farms like Andes Acres, raising alpacas means building relationships.
“Young people with kids love (alpacas) because they are gentle and aloof,” Westgate said. “We live in a great community. … We’re here not to just sell you the animals. We’re here to teach you about the animals and offer you support.”
Showing off
Alpaca shows attract owners of all varieties from around the country. Shows like The North American Alpaca Show in Springfield, Mass. bring together thousands of alpacas and their caretakers. Karsten said alpaca shows range in size based on the number of animals entered, and since alpacas come in the widest range of natural colors of any fiber-bearing animal in the world, the shows are broken up according to color classes.
“Alpaca shows are one of the best means of marketing a breeding program,” Karsten said.
Lennie Foss is treasurer of the New England Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association and owner of Elf-Paca Meadows in Rochester. Foss and his family show their alpacas and their fleece at events around the country. He started showing his animals in 2003, and the farm’s 47 alpacas have earned a display case of red and blue prize ribbons.
