http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/investing/20010905a.asp?prodtype=grn
Nearly 2,000 Americans are now raising alpacas, those pretty animals that are cousins to the llama, in the camel family, and come from the cold Andean Mountains. They are commercially useful only for their fine, silky fur which used to be spun into yarn and worn only by the Incan Indian royalty. This business began to be an attraction in the late 1980s when advertisements began running on TV and inserts in print publications. by the mid-1990s this business was up and growing. The animals are quite expensive, some costing over $20,000, but to make an assessment people need to be very conservative and value their females at around $10,000 per head. You see, in this market, people are making the very high dollars in selling the animals, not the fleece. Yes, the fleece is very valuable and coats, blankets, and sweaters made from it can be quite expensive. But today people are getting into alpaca farming for its value in selling the high-priced animals to other people starting farms. The life style is also a bonus. These animals are gentle, easy and cheap to raise, and farm life appeals to many city-weary people.
The babies, called crias, are born to bred females once a year. Gestation is almost 12 months, and the baby’s weaned only after 6 months. Three bred females could possibly grow a herd to 30 head after 5 years. It’s suggested in various sources that people planning to run a farm as a business should have a good mentor, a very responsible business plan, and capitol to run the business for at least five years. Buying a pregnant female and selling the baby for half, would yield a return of around 50% per year. The least return is in buying the animals and boarding them with another breeder on their farm. The lack of large mills in the U.S. or Canada hampers the ability to sell the wool here. Since the AOBA (the alpaca association) introduced an animal registry and closed the registry to any further importation to protect U.S. herd growth. It also registers blood type and DNA to ensure against fraud.
http://www.alpacaadvantage.com/alpaca-business-planning.html
The business plan has to be based on real numbers and other growers will help you with this. Also, the national association is a tremendous help. According to one conservative estimate I found, an average investor beginning in the farm business will need at least $80,000-$100,000. Another cite emphasizes that the highest profit can be achieved by keeping the crias and breeding them until a decent herd is established. About 5 acres is needed to maintain 20 adult alpacas, and this has to be a factor. Buildings, feed, veterinary expenses, insurance, and land are all facets of the expense side of this business. Marketing has to be an ongoing project. Without a good web site, it’s almost impossible to get good exposure for your best stock. That site needs to be listed on all the directories and lists possible. All this costs money, but without exposure, there’s a very reduced possiblity for good sales.
www.alpacainfo.com A very interesting publication by the Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association tells all about the tax advantages, which are most beneficial to owners of farms who can depreciate their business expenses.
http://www.alpacanation.com/default.asp
Though the commercial purposes for raising these animals many be many, until the U.S and Canada get some mills up and going, the selling of the fleece is really a cottage industry. As more and more people begin to be introduced to this beautiful material made into garments, the fleece is not a primary consideration and breeding is the main profit source. Most people sell their fleece to a North American cooperative that ships it abroad for manufacture into clothing. It may be that as more and more people begin breeding and the prices go down, the profits from the fleece will offset that by a growing demand for the products made from it.
