Our Story
We fell in love with alpacas back in 1996 when
“diversification” was the buzz word for farmers.
We were a mixed grain and cattle farm on our
third generation family farm, however, the mix
was becoming less profitable thus we began
looking for something that would add value to
our operation.
While others were opting for elk or bison we
wanted something that wouldn’t require a lot of
handling equipment and the associated
dangers. As Bob was reading through a sales
magazine he saw an ad for alpacas--a beautiful
new-to-North America creature. Our research led us to the purchase of 2 male and 3 bred female Chilean Alpacas
and we adopted the slogan, "Embrace the Lifestyle!" to describe our new venture.
By the time our 5 alpacas arrived on our farm in the middle of a cold Saskatchewan winter featuring -30 degree
Celsius temperatures, our females had multiplied and we now had 6 Alpacas with a 7th due any time.
You can imagine the excitement as our three young daughters anticipated the arrival
of our first “cria." The due date came but no baby. Through our research, we were
amazed to learn that alpacas are ‘induced’ ovulators and that they have the ability to
delay labour at will in response to unfavorable conditions. We assumed in this case,
it was due to poor weather as the usual 11½ month gestation period was stretching
to 13!
Perhaps it was the shock of such cold weather or maybe the breeding records were
in error, we weren’t sure, but the cria was finally born in late December of 1996 to
the delight of all.
Needless to say, we quickly adjusted our birthing schedule to
mid-summer and have since had the joy of many many
birthings or “Criations,” as we like to call them, over the years
since.
Many of the attractions and benefits we were hoping for when
we began our adventure as Alpaca Ranchers have proven true.
We have sincerely and whole-heartedly embraced this fulfilling
lifestyle.
Alpaca Fibre Products
We soon decided to get out of cattle ranching altogether and moved to organic grain and alpaca fibre production.
We joined the Saskatchewan Alpaca Breeders Network (SABN) and The Canadian Llama and Alpaca Association
(CLAA) and began our journey with new friends and new skills.
As we never had the gumption for traveling to the alpaca shows and competing
as registered breeders, we decided to look in a new and exciting direction: The
“commercial” Alpaca fibre industry.
This decision lead us to concentrate on increasing our numbers and the quality
of our fibre. With the help of the SABN and CLAA and the events they sponsor, I
became more and more educated on alpaca fibre and have completely fallen in
love with its beauty, its feel, its practicality, and its diverse value.
From our small beginnings of a few animals and shearing them ourselves, we
have experienced growth to the point of hiring a capable shearer, a quality control production line where we sort
the fibre according to length, colour, and quality —
each intended for a different end product. We then
tumble the fibre to pre-clean it and send it to a mill
for washing, carding, spinning, and dyeing.
We are proud to have found highly capable
knitters, crocheters, weavers, hookers, felters,
artists and furriers to work with and create the
diverse array of amazing Alpaca products we carry
today.