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Frequently
Asked Questions
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| Tell us about yourself... | ||
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| How long have you been in the alpaca business? | ||
We've farmed alpacas since 1991. I came from a family of dairy farmers and Jude had family connections to Merino sheep farmers. After building designer houses for many years, including an Australian House of the Year Award, and Jude teaching for many years, we both wanted something else. We would never have thought it would be so successful and that we'd actually farm alpacas in the US as well. We've fallen in love with Oregon, the mountains, the coast, the high deserts and especially the summers! Why America? Simple economics really. The Australian alpaca industry is still active and the best genetics sell at very good prices. However the US industry has done such a good job of marketing itself that it has an assured future we believe. It diversifies our interests and I love it because its closer to the surf in Hawaii and Mexico!! |
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| How did you become interested in alpacas? | ||
We were worn out! We had five acres, a little money, and a lot of grass to cut. We both yearned for some type of farming pursuit and couldn't belive our luck when we discovered alpacas. We bought within five days! We bought 160 acres after raising them for three years and Jude "retired" to run the farm. By that stage we had 130 in our care. Another two years saw our herd grow to 300 plus. How did we do it? Brokering, agistment, standing superior herdsires and bending over backwards to look after our clients. In 1995 we discovered suris and that was a new love affair. There were only 500 in Australia by then so we came to the US and took 56 home. We sourced them from Alpacas of America and Castle Hill Farm. We also participated in the imports into the US with our partners, Snowmass Alpacas. We had the pleasure of selecting males like Accoyo Legacy and Accoyo Pachacuti in Peru and bringing them back to the US. At the time we were also partners in Peruvian Hemingway. |
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| How did you decide on your farm name? Is there a special meaning behind the name? | ||
We decided on Pucara because we had read back in 1991 that the Pucara were an ancient civilzation of Quechua Indians in Peru who worshipped the alpaca. They've certainly become our religion and we're treasuring the experience.Since travelling to Peru we now know Pucara is a region and town there. We have participated with the Quechua benefit since its inception and encourage all of you to support this group headed up by Dr Mario Pedroza of Morning Sun Alpacas. Each year this group goes to Peru to attend to the dental needs of the indians who look after the alpacas in the altiplano. |
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| What sets your farm and herd apart from others in the industry? | ||
Thats an easy one! We did it the Australian way. Well, thats part joke part truth. Jude and I come from farming backgrounds. And although we were not farming since we were much younger there is a skill or culture there that helps with animal assesment and especially husbandry and breeding decisions. Relatives of mine were Jersey dairy cattle breeders. The way they survived was to go high tech. Artificial breeding and computerization was their saviour. Knowing genetics and understanding breeding principles set them apart. They had to produce as much product in the highest quality that they could so record management and scientific analysis was important to asses lines for prepotency of particular traits. It is no different for alpacas. Their quality is assessed by conformation and especially fiber. Both can be assessed objectively. To that end we record fober results of our herd to assess their value. Jude became a woolclasser so we could take advantage of the record taking. |
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| What is your greatest achievement or favorite memory since you started raising alpacas? | ||
Our favourite memory....hmmm. First of all I think the day in 1991 when we first had alpacas on our property in Australia. We were speechless as we unloaded them from the trailer. We had purchased the animals three months prior but they were in quarantine. Just that excitement of going to pick them up and then introducing them to our farm and sitting there watching them discover the property was amazing. I even remember being Gabriella's best buddy. She was a black female cria with no other young ones to pronk with. I spent a lot of time running the pastures with her. The next occassion that stood out was the day I unloaded the US alpacas we imported to Australia in 1997. Seeing the aluminium crates unload from the plane then escorting them to the Spotswood quarantine was unforgetable. There I was looking at Peruvian Don Julio, Drambuie, Accoyo Legend, Accoyo Pluro, Accoyo Amador and Cadete and all those gorgeous females. It was unbelievable. |
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| What steps did you take to prepare for raising an alpaca herd? | ||
We were of the minority. We bought within five days of first meeting alpacas. But we had three months to prepare for them. We talked to every alpaca breeder we could find. That was easy it was 1991 and just 1000 alpacas were in Australia. No one really knew much. Having said that the major breeders were ex farmers so they applied their wisdom from there and we learnt from that. Roger Haldane was inspirational. He was our mentor. Everyone needs a mentor. You'll know when you meet one. It's always hard to sort the hype from the wisdom but if you go around and have a set of prepared questions and ask everyone those questions the wisdom comes to the surface. The more alpacas you see and the more questions you ask the more you will learn. BUT you have to have a plan. A business plan and a herd plan to match. Its imperative to your success. |
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| What advice would you give to those just getting started in the industry? | ||
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| How do you see your farm and alpaca business growing over the next 5 to 10 years? | ||
We will cull, cull, cull and improve, improve and improve. Look at other livestock industries. Who are the breeders who succeed. They are the ones with the best genetics. Best meaning lines that repeat themselves with high levels of certainty. Those farms are also good marketers. I always think how the hell did Don Julio Bareeda succeed. He lives on the edge of nowhere high in the altiplano where most of us cannot even breath. There he recieves guest from all over the world. Many take a week just to travel to the farm. They are there because he is percieved by many to have the best. He is also a cunning and very smart marketer. No different to the best quarter horse breeders in the US or the Merino sheep breeders of Australia. They know their stuff and they can talk the talk! So we will breed. We will analyse. We will learn more about genetics. We will market and sell. We will run about 100 suri ( we have that now )and will build to 100 huacaya. Our aim is to farm at the elite level. |
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| What has been your biggest lesson learned in terms of breeding? | ||
Great question. Never to think that you own the best. And never to think that because she may be ugly in old age that she is worthless. You must investigate the performance of the parents and grand parents of your alpacas before buying and likewise the progeny and always record fiber stats. You must be prepared to cull a herdsire if he does not perform and likewise a female. It's so hard now because the alpacas are worth so much but everything is at a price point and so your junk may be some one else's treasure. We want to be breeding alpacas and making a living from it in twenty years....bugger, that makes us 70 yaers old!!!!, but we will only survive for that time if we are seen to have the best! So we must breed on the one hand for what we think is the future and on the other hand for what is the current market niche! |
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| Describe your first alpaca purchase... would you do anything differently today? | ||
It was terrible. Uneducated. Full of emotion. For all the wrong reasons. Then we learned. Read. Explored. Asked questions. Met our mentor Roger Haldane and our next purchase off him of four alpacas led to four championships. We were lucky because at that time there were very few alpacas and they were all golden....to a degree. We never buy now unless we are prepared on the background of an animal....unless it's a super super bargain of course!!!! |
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| What has been the most helpful advice you? | ||
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| What unique challenges do you face as a small, mid-size, or larger breeder? | ||
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| What do you tell prospective buyers who look at the small profit the alpaca fiber produces compared to the daunting prices of alpacas? | ||
Geez, I can't give all my secrets away! I tell them the truth. Its never ever going to add up whilst alpacas are so expensive. I explain that to get alpacas to the US it cost about $10,000 each animal and the importers put a premium on that for profit. The rest is about supply and demand. I explain why some horses are worth millions and others are geldings. Why some Merino rams in Australia sell for a million dollars but a majority sell for twenty bucks and often end up on the dinner table. I explain every exotic livestock industry started this way but none, I mean none, were as well organized, controlled and ran like AOBA. I also explain that there is a fiber future if the fiber is better understood and bred for. But I am very clear not to mislead anyone. I think the fiber future is in very good hands, especially in Australia but it will take many, many years to mature, I personally do not want to make money from a commercial fiber herd. I want to be a supplier of the genetics. |
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| If you could change one aspect of the Alpaca industry what would it be? Why? | ||
I would like to have more full time breeders in the industry. It would be a huge stimulus. We have to make money from alpaca farming because it is our only source of income. You are forced to work harder and think better if you rely on it. I think only about 15% of breeders are full time. |
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