ALPACAS IN THE NEWS
By SARAH KERSHAW
Published: November
28, 2004
(Taken verbatim from http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/28/national/28alpaca.html)
ANBY,
Ore. - The rancher approached his fuzzy beasts with a bucket of feed.
"Hi, girls!" he shouted. "Sophia! Satin Doll! Dotty!"
Then he glanced over the fence at the studs, corralled separately. "Investigator! Dominator!"
The alpacas, wooly, long-necked cousins of the llama, came trotting forth on their two-toed feet, a few of them neck wrestling one another along the way.
The rancher, Randy Coleman, and his wife, Barbara, had heard of fleeting exotic animal and food investment crazes - jojoba beans, Beefalo, emus, ostriches and llamas - before giving up their jobs as a mechanic and a secretary to start raising alpacas here at their farm, Wings and a Prayer Alpacas, 20 miles south of Portland.
But like many others who have thrown themselves into new endeavors and faddish financial investments, the Colemans and a surging number of alpaca farmers across the nation feel certain their business is sustainable. The Colemans say they have doubled their annual earnings into six figures.
The value of alpacas has so far rested mostly on breeding stock, which is tightly controlled, rather than a market for their fleece.
Alpaca ranchers and trend spotters say the recent popularity of pursuits like alpaca breeding is also a sign that more Americans are seizing on a simpler life, giving up the grind of the workaday world, whether they be mechanics, doctors or chief executives. The animals, clean, fairly cuddly and a bit cartoonish in appearance, are themselves a large part of the attraction, the breeders say.
"Once we decided to do it, we've never looked back," said Mrs. Coleman, 51, who along with her husband, who is 42, started their alpaca business in 1998. They bought an alpaca named Wings for $12,000, bred the animal, and it gave birth to a female that sold for $15,000. Now, they have 70 animals.
"Our business is bringing in people who are leaning more toward the slow life," she said. "People are tired of traffic jams on their way to work."
Despite cautions from experienced financial advisers who warn that such fads can end badly, the fascination with alpacas is gaining momentum. What started as a tiny niche in the world of the domestic livestock market, with a few hundred alpacas imported into this country from South America in the mid-1980's, has grown rapidly in the last several years. In the rolling, lush hills of this area alone, in a state where the nation's first alpaca ranches sprang up, there are now dozens of them.
Ohio has the most alpaca ranches and the largest herds in the nation, with Oregon, Washington and Colorado ranking high on the list and New York State experiencing a recent jump in alpaca farm growth, according to experts on the business. The numbers - about 50,000 alpacas in the United States, the second largest population after Australia outside of South America - are still relatively small compared with, say, horses, which number in the millions. There are now 4,300 alpaca breeders in the United States, up from just a few dozen in the late 1980's, according to the Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association, based in Mount Laurel, N.J.
The animals' main product, fleece, is worth relatively little compared with their market value. Each alpaca produces an annual average of five pounds of fleece, used to make textiles, including sweaters, scarves and other apparel. Five pounds of raw fleece is worth only $80 to $240.
But because there is still limited registered breeding stock in this country and people continue to clamor for them, an alpaca can fetch $17,500 to $22,500 on average. Some animals with certain pedigrees or prizes from the many alpaca shows held across the country sell for far more.
Alpaca prices have risen slowly but steadily in this country, appreciating at 6 percent a year, over the last 15 years, according to Michael Safely, an alpaca breeder in Hillsboro, Ore., who has written books on alpacas and was one of the first in this country to get into the business, about 20 years ago. The value, however, rests entirely on a growing - and continuing - fascination with the animals.
The number of breeders and ranchers has grown quickly over the last five years, as an international market for them has also expanded to 30 countries, from just a few in the late 1990's, said Mr. Safely, who has a Web site, Alpacas.com, and who conducts workshops for people interested in buying the animals.
For many people, particularly those who jumped in early, alpacas seemed to be a smart investment, yielding quick and large profits, especially for those lucky enough to buy a full or part share in popular alpaca studs.
Most alpaca ranchers make the bulk of their money through the sale of females, although breeding and boarding fees for investors without farms can add to their income. Most serious alpaca ranchers, including the Colemans, own a part or full share in high priced-studs. The Colemans' star stud, Captain Morgan, commands breeding fees of $3,000. Some studs are valued up to $150,000.
One of the most famous studs, Hemingway, who lives on a ranch near here, is near retirement, but he has sired about 500 offspring, and his breeding fees alone could cover tuition at the fanciest private schools or most expensive universities. Perhaps the most sought-after stud on the alpaca market now, though, is Dom Lucilio, a highly coiffed champion who was sold for $400,000.
"Dom Lucilio is a legend in his own time," says an advertisement in Alpacas Magazine, an industry publication. "It's no fairy tale. He's real."
But there are plenty of skeptics, who say that alpacas' value is anything but certain. What if they die? What if the bottom falls out? What if the alpaca bubble bursts, as did the emu, ostrich and llama bubbles?
"Over the last 25 years, there have been lots of other similar fads," said Kurt Brouwer, president of Brouwer & Janachowski Investment Advisers, in Tiburon, Calif. "I've never seen one pan out."
"An old veteran investor said once that anything to do with animals or agriculture you run - not walk - away from," Mr. Brouwer added. "Nobody's made any money on it."
At this point, the demand for alpacas is still very high, breeders say, partly because a system of registering the animals blocks the import of more alpacas, which could otherwise flood the market. Only alpacas born to two animals registered in the United States are now valuable on the market, although a few animals are also bought and sold as pets for a few hundred dollars without being registered. The llama market, which also began in Oregon, spiked and then fizzled in the 1990's, had no such registry blocking imports. Many alpaca ranchers and investors emphasize the closed registry when insisting that alpacas are a more sound investment. And unlike emus and ostriches, whose rapid reproduction helped lead to a bust of those markets, alpacas can give birth only once every 11 months, helping to keep the supply in check.
Mr. Safely, the Hillsboro alpaca breeder, said: "When I started, I would tell people I thought the market would be good for another five years. Well, I've been saying that for 15 years."
He added: "It's not quite as simple to say that all of a sudden it's a bubble and it's going to burst. A bubble is defined by radical moves in the price structure, not a gentle appreciation curve over time."
There are also tax incentives for alpaca ranchers starting a new small business and deductions for running a livestock farm.
But most alpaca farmers - the average herd is eight animals - say the choice to raise alpacas is about much more than money.
Many "alpaca people," as they call themselves, have given up jobs as doctors, corporate executives and in other fields to start second careers raising the animals. Alpacas, by most accounts, are cute, if a bit strange looking. They are clean (they do their business in one tidy, communal spot, making it easy to clean up after them), tread gently on the land and are easy to care for, the ranchers say. Once in a while they screech, but their most common sound is a kind of soft humming.
Alpacas do have a tendency to spit, their main defense mechanism and a way of expressing irritation or discomfort. The way to tell if an alpaca female is pregnant is to bring a stud near her and see if she spits at him, the telltale sign that a female has conceived and wants nothing to do with a stud. But they are generally low-key creatures, caretakers say.
Jeri and Tom Booher, both veterinarians, gave up their office practices seven years ago and now practice alpaca medicine full time, along with running a farm of 120 alpacas, near Banks, Ore., 25 miles northwest of Portland.
"The animals themselves are very appealing," Jeri Booher said.
Her husband agreed.
"Even if there is a lot of money in pigs," he said. "I just couldn't do it."
The Boohers are co-owners of Hemingway, the stud, who was imported here from Peru in 1993, and whose breeding fee until recently was $5,000.
Even at 15, Hemingway is still rather frisky, the Boohers say. Alpacas typically live to about 16.
He understands the phrase, "Hemingway, you want to breed?" his owners say, and he seems eager to keep his lineage alive."He's like a marine," Mr. Booher said on a recent afternoon at the ranch, where he was petting and cajoling Hemingway, who was soon to be on his way down the hill for a "spit test," with some of the female alpacas who were, the Boohers hoped, pregnant. "He thinks he can breed on the freeway."
Ms. Booher laughed. "He's our celebrity," she said.
“When Stocks Tank, Some Investors Stampede to Alpacas ..."
by JENNIFER LEVITZ
Associated Press
(Excerpt taken from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122298871817500225.html)
“Peggy Parks, a 49-year-old auditor in Johnstown, Pa., turned to an unusual farm animal.
"I've lost a fortune in stocks, and my 401(k) is falling through the floor. I feel comfortable in alpacas," she says. She invested $56,000 in a small herd that she believes has a better outlook than most mutual funds because of the animals' breeding potential.
The national Alpaca Registry Inc., in Lincoln, Neb., says registrations are on pace to rise 7% this year and currently stand at 140,297. Ms. Parks says a female of "medium quality" can fetch $10,000 and that prices have been rising, supporting her hopes that she'll see a profit on her alpaca portfolio in five years.”
(Taken verbatim from http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2003/04/28/export9238.txt)
STEVE THORNTON / Staff Photographer Rick Horn gives some snacks to his male alpacas at his All American Alpacas ranch in Murrieta.
HENRI BRICKEY
Staff Writer
MURRIETA ---- A growing number of urban refugees is finding a unique way to
finance getaways into the country ---- and possibly to pay for retirement, as
well.
Corporate castaways are ditching their stock options and spending their savings
on a rare llama native to Peru, the alpaca.
Until two years ago, Rick Horn, a former professional sky diving instructor
living in Murrieta, had never given alpacas much thought.
But it didn't take long after Horn learned about the animals for him to quit his
fast-paced job, sell all his stocks and turn his 5-acre property into an alpaca
ranch. After certifying sky diving instructors for 25 years, Horn says the
terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 made him reconsider his globe-trotting lifestyle.
"I wanted out of the rat race," said Horn, who flew around the world certifying
sky diving instructors. "I essentially lived on United Airlines."
Then his wife, Pati, told him about alpacas, an animal valued for its high
quality fleece, which she learned about in a magazine article.
With quality alpacas selling for $15,000 to $25,000 each, the Horns saw an
investment opportunity, if they could find a way to breed them.
"At first it seemed really ridiculous, but the more we researched it the more
sense it made," Horn said recently from his ranch in Murrieta, All American
Alpacas.
Two years after bringing home his first pair of alpacas, the Horns' herd has
grown to 35 and he says he'd never go back to the lifestyle he lived before.
A national trend
California has one of the largest alpaca populations in the world, with almost
2,800 of the roughly 45,000 alpacas registered in the United States, according
to Alpaca Registry International, a Montana-based agency that keeps a database
of alpacas to establish bloodlines and create a list of pedigrees ---- much like
the American Kennel Club does for dogs.
Erin McCarthy, marketing director for the Colorado-based Alpaca Owners and
Breeders Association, says alpaca breeding has become an attractive alternative
for people fed up with the stock market and looking for a secure investment.
"A lot of my customers are corporate refuges trying to break out of the
corporate world," McCarthy said.
Fifty percent of the alpaca breeders that McCarthy comes in contact with say the
primary reason they purchased alpacas was for financial investing, she said.
"Seventy-five percent of the people in the alpaca industry have no (previous)
livestock experience," McCarthy said.
The story is one Horn says he sees all the time ---- the disenchanted,
middle-aged corporate employee fed up with the 9-to-5 grind comes to him looking
for an alpaca and a better life.
Most of his customers are people trying to get back to a more basic way of life
and achieve a better understanding of living naturally, Horn said.
"Where are all the old hippies from the '70s? They're here in Southern
California," Horn said. "People are wanting to get out of the city, out of the
rat race and into a more serene way of life ---- and this is it," Horn said.
But at $15,000 to $25,000 a pop, buying a breeding-class alpaca isn't cheap; and
that's part of what makes them so appealing for people who invest in them.
And the good news for "alpacapreneurs," as some people in the business refer to
themselves, is that the price for alpacas will likely continue to remain stable
for many years into the future, McCarthy said.
The overall alpaca population is likely to remain low for several reasons, one
being that alpacas can only give birth once a year, and rarely have more than
one "crias" ---- baby alpaca.
And other steps have been taken to prevent the overpopulation of the species.
"The Alpaca Registry has been closed, so no new animals can come into the
country and be registered," she said. "Most of the breeders here are small-time
and they felt this would level the playing field."
Like a vacation
One of those small-time breeders is Tally Hoffman, an advertising representative
with The Californian who recently got into the alpaca business after seeing an
ad in the paper for a herd of alpaca being offered at a price she could afford.
Hoffman, 56, had just sold her house in San Marcos and was looking to get a few
animals for the 5-acre ranch home in La Cresta she bought a year ago.
Three months after bringing her alpacas home, Hoffman said she is adjusting fine
to the lifestyle.
"It's better than the stock market," said Hoffman last week while stuffing the
fleece from one of her freshly shorn alpaca into a sack.
But it's not the precious fleece that Hoffman is banking on. Her husband will
spin that in his spare time.
For alpaca owners, the money is in breeding.
But even if the offspring of Hoffman's alpacas come in at the low end of the
gene pool and don't fetch much money, Hoffman said the experience is still worth
it.
"I'm hoping to make money, but if I don't I still have 20 wonderful pets,"
Hoffman said. "It's like a vacation all the time here."
Easy to care for
"What makes the alpaca more attractive than other types of livestock is you
don't have to milk them, you don't have to fuss with them. They're easier to
take care of than dogs and cats," McCarthy said.
An alpaca's diet consists of hay and the occasional mineral supplement, costing
about the same to feed as a dog. Another bonus for the alpaca rancher is the
minimal amount of care the animals require ---- basically limited to shearing,
worming and vaccinations.
Native to the Peruvian highlands, alpacas are hardy animals capable of
withstanding extreme cold. A simple ramadalike structure is enough shelter for
here in Southern California and they even have this neat habit of pooping in the
same place, making cleanup much easier. Not that alpaca dung is so repulsive.
Because of their diet, the small green pellets are virtually odorless.
A herd of five to 10 alpaca can live comfortably live on 1 acre, making them an
ideal choice for someone with a small ranch hoping to get their hands dirty
raising an animal.
And forget about the horse trailer. At just over 100 pounds, alpaca can ride
comfortably in the back of a pickup or even a station wagon.
Most of the work associated with raising alpacas is the fencing, Horn said. But
it's not to keep the alpacas in ---- they don't take much interest in jumping
fences ---- it's to keep predators out. Horn takes several steps to protect his
alpacas from marauding coyotes and stray dogs.
A 6-foot fence, electrified on the outside, surrounds his alpacas' play area.
Then there's Rose and Lillith, two guard llamas, which coyotes will not
approach. The llamas stay inside with the alpacas.
Outside the gate, Horn's two pet German shepherds roam the property to keep
outsiders at bay.
Contact staff writer Henri Brickey at (909) 676-4315, Ext. 2616, or hbrickey@californian.com.
4/28/03
King of the Hill Alpacas, Hemet CA - kothalpacas.com