Ellen Snortland: Disasters: Where There's Smoke... There's a Silver Lining
There's nothing like a good disaster to remind you of your own mortality; stop waiting for "someday." You need to write that book, sing that song, smell those roses, surf that wave
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So, if the fire doesn't hit your farm, the alpacas are safe....
now that is SAVVY.
who doesn't want an alpaca/llama farm? they are frickin rad.
Alpacas are not a pyramid scheme or luxury pets, they are not rude and do not spit at people. All the negative comments about Alpacas below are based in ignorance. Alpacas are the best investment in livestock right now and I'll tell you why.
FIBER FINENESS. Finished 100% Super Cashmere yarn sells for about $500 per pound because it is some of the finest around. Individual fibers have an average diameter of 14 to 16 microns, but the fibers have a short staple length, 1 to 1.5 inches. A typical cashmere goat produces 4 ounces per year, so it takes 4 goats a year to make $500 worth of fiber.
Because of the unique properties of the Alpaca fiber and its exceptional staple length (3 to 5 inches), "Royal Grade" Alpaca fiber measured at 16 to 19 microns has the same "spin fineness" (ultra soft feel) as Super Cashmere. There are Alpaca breeders in the U.S. right now that have animals that produce 5 to 6 pounds of Royal Alpaca fiber each year. That's $2500 to $3000 in fiber per year from one Alpaca. Over the next 10-20 years we expect to be able breed Alpacas that will produce 10-12 pounds of Royal fiber per year.
If I run 200 cashmere goats on my 40 acres, I can expect 50 pounds of fiber or $25,000 per year. If I have 200 Alpacas, someday I could expect up to 2000 pounds or $1,000,000 per year. (cont.)
(from cont.) They have found 2,000 year old Alpaca garments from Incan tombs that measured 12 to 16 microns. But for the past 300 years Europe has been buying Alpaca fiber from Peru based on weight. So poor Alpaca farmers bred their Alpacas to Llamas to produce a larger animal that would produce more fiber but as a result, the fiber also became coarser.
100% Alpaca yarn imported from Peru measures about 27 to 32 microns, that's why it sells for $150 per pound. That's why the Alpaca is the best investment in livestock right now. You can purchase a 30 micron breeding female for $4K to $5K and in 3-4 generations that line would be producing 16-19 micron Alpacas that have a lifetime production career of $30,000 to $40,000 in fiber.
In Colorado I have had my hands on an alpaca with a 12.8 micron average fiber diameter and another with an 18 pound clip from one year's growth. In Ohio, a 7 year old male with a 5" to 6" staple length. I have read fleece production records from Oregon where breeding females maintained a sub 20 micron average fiber diameter past 12 years of age. And I have heard that Accoyo (one of Peru's best alpaca operations) has already created a line they call 20/20 (or 20 pounds of 20 micron fiber per year) and a Vicuna line thought to create approximately 10 pounds of 12 to 13 micron fiber per year.
My apologies, that should read, "You can purchase a 30 micron breeding female for $4K to $5K and in 3-4 generations that line would be producing 16-19 micron Alpacas..."
GREEN LIVESTOCK. In my opinion, this Alpaca article is in the "Green" section because Alpacas may be the "Greenest" livestock option now.
Alpacas are modified ruminants with a three chamber stomach, a far more efficient system than the seven stomach bovine setup. They are a member of the camelid family and consume little water. Alpacas produce little methane and I feed 12 adults the same amount of hay that a single horse consumes daily. They don't rip forage by the root like sheep or goats so pastures recover quickly without irrigation. Other ultra-fine natural fibers like cashmere and silk come in few colors (< 4), Alpacas come in 22 natural colors (no chemical dyes). Alpaca fiber has no lanolin like sheep's wool and is hypoallergenic. And it's a far greener fiber production process than polyester, conventionally grown cotton or cashmere. Polyester production generates particulate air pollution during the curing process and conventionally grown cotton uses more pesticides than any other crop grown in the U.S. Processing cashmere involves some 30+ individual steps as the fine fibers must be separated from the coarse guardhair by large "dehairing" machinery in fiber mills. Alpaca fiber does not have to be "dehaired" so processing raw Alpaca fiber into a finished yarn requires only 4 steps.
Sigh... (from cont.) post above, 2nd line, 2nd paragraph should read, "You can purchase a 30 micron breeding female for $4K to $5K and with proper breeding, in 3-4 generations that line would be producing 16-19 micron Alpacas..."
Apparently I put the wrong parentheses around "with proper breeding" so HP pulled the phrase out like an HTML tag.
Cheap is what I gathered from this !
the realkity is, if that blazing inferno was to sweep across their farm, it does not matter how much they watered the grass. That is the thing about blazing infernos, they are way to how to care about some dampness. I would all dry out in a matter of minutes.
So the reason the alpacas were safe was because the fire did not get that far. That is all there is to it
should say: "way too hot to care about some dampness"
That is exactly what I was thinking..........also, if the fire didn't kill them, the smoke would....I'm glad to see that people care about their animals, but I can't imagine this stopping a raging fire that comes their way......
I totally agree. If you are a responsible farmer living in California from now on, you MUST have an evacuation plan ready and paid for, or you are risking the lives of the animals you are responsible for. Sprinklers are NOT going to stop a raging wildfire.
they won't be smiling when they get their water bill
It should be illegal to water pastures and the wool of any alpaca that is wet down all the time is not going to be any good to sell.
Well, aren't YOU a compassionate human being. Humanity is SO overrated.
Well, sounds like $ is your big concern. Glad you weren't responsible for these beautiful animals.
It's nice these animals didn't die but why are these people wasting all this water in California watering patures all the time just for these luxury pets?
Good question... these are not merely pets but a rather represent an agricultutal commodity and the Alpaca ranchers livelihood. Thnink - Alpaca sweaters, rugs, and other textiles made from their wool. You wouldnt question a store owner watering down his roof to protect it from embers, a farmer trying to protect his crops. These are just really cute livestock.
There is just one problem. Alpacas do not pay despite what you might read. When you can import the fiber cheaper from South America than you can raise it here you will never get back your investment. Alpacas in this country are a status symbol not a cash venture. It's a pyramid scam for the most part. For the cost of one animal I can import bales of alpaca wool from Peru. I know I make my living with sheep and making products for the textile industry. We should not be raising anything in this country where the pastures need to be watered it is extremely wasteful. This is another example of Californians wasting resources. Do you have any idea what happens to all the male alpacas they are discarded for about $150.00. A female sells for 2000. or more but she probably will have male offspring half of the times she is bred. Those males are dumped at exotic auctions cheaply.
Won't they shrink? Alpacas? Hello?
:-)
I raised alpacas for 15 years and I can't tell you how much they love water. Even the most skittish ones will come right up to a running hose and frolic in the water.
What is brilliant about this? People have been soaking their property with hoses since there were water taps. By the way - too many people soaking too much can lower the water pressure sufficiently to compromise hydrants.
I suspect that this was more of a monetary concern than a love of animals concern. The only green that matters has George Washingtons' picture on it.
The really sensible thing to do would be to have an evac plan in place BEFORE BUILDING A HERD.
These people ought to read up up on the Australia bush fires that happened earlier this year. While watering helps, it won't stop a fire storm.
Exactly!! What saved these animals was the fire not over running them.
Yay - how about that socialist fire department doing a fabulous job, eh?
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First Posted: 09-24-09 07:51 AM | Updated: 09-24-09 11:20 AM