Alpaca Facts 
Alpacas are members of the camelid family, which means they are related to camels and llamas.  They have only been in the United States since the mid – 1980’s.  Importing of alpacas was stopped in 1998 so the alpacas that are currently in the US are the only breeding stock to improve the bloodlines; therefore, the breeding of them is a good investment opportunity. 

Alpacas are bred for their high quality fleece which is similar to cashmere.  Their fleece is one of the world’s most luxurious natural fibers; very soft and lighter, stronger and warmer than wool.  

There are two types of alpacas, the huacaya (wah-kai-yuh) and the suri (su-ree).  Only a small percentage of the alpacas in the US are suri.  It has fiber that grows very long and forms something like dreadlocks.  The huacaya, which has a stronger base in the US has a shorter, denser fleece. The fleece has a crimp or waviness without the greasiness of sheep wool.   

There are twenty-two natural colors of alpaca fleece.  These colors can be blended into more colors, and alpaca fleece can be dyed to specific colors.  Alpacas are shorn for their fleece each year which will normally produce 5 to 10 pounds of soft fiber per animal.   

Alpacas are very friendly and inquisitive but do not always want to be petted or held.  They will occasionally spit or kick out to the side if annoyed.  Alpacas are very safe animals since they do not have incisors, hoofs, horns or claws. 

The height of an adult alpaca is normally about 3 feet tall at the withers and they will weigh between 100 to 175 pounds.  Due to their size they are easy to transport and can travel in a minivan.  The average life span of an alpaca is 15-20 years. 

Female alpacas will normally start breeding at 18-24 months of age.  Males will not normally begin breeding until at least 2 – 3 years of age.  The gestation period for alpacas is normally 11.5 months long and the female can rebreed within weeks of the birth of the baby alpaca which is called a cria (cree-ah). The reproductive life of a female alpaca is normally between 15 – 20 years.   

Investing in Alpacas
Consider alpacas as an investment opportunity for you and your family.  They are considered on of world’s finest livestock investments.  For one thing, alpacas are fully insured against loss, which protects your investment.   

Some things to consider about your alpaca investment: 

Ownership – Hands-on or passive ownership (consider the tax advantages of these options).  With hands-on ownership, you can enjoy a serene rural lifestyle tending your herd on your own acreage while generating a tax deferred wealth for the future.

With investment only ownership (passive), you will purchase your alpacas but have them boarded (agisting) with someone else providing the daily care of the animals.

 In order to take advantage of the many tax write-offs available the following should apply:

    • You must operate the farm in a business like manner (i.e., appear to be trying to make a profit).
    • You should have an organized business plan and be able to justify your business decisions.
    • You must maintain separate records of the farm business.

Farm expenses and improvements are either direct deductions or amortized (depreciable) deductions.  These include.

    • Feed, fertilizer, chemicals and vet care
    • Farm repairs and maintenance, fuel and oil
    •  Interest, taxes and insurance
    •  Breeding fees
    •  Educational expenses to improve your farm expertise
    •  Advertising and farm publications
    •  AOBA and association dues
    •  Vehicle mileage for all farm business.  This can include enjoyable trips to breeder
       conference and alpaca ranches

 Other Depreciation matters:

    • Purchased breeding stock may be depreciated over 7 years. (Example, you purchase two pregnant females for $30,000. You could deduct $30,000/7 years = $4,286 from your income in each of the next seven years.  If you borrowed money to buy the breeding stock, the interest is fully deductible from your income also.)

    • Capital improvements such as barn, fences, pond construction, driveways, and parking lots can be expensed over their useful life.  Equipment such as tractors, pickups, trailers and scales each have an appropriate schedule for depreciation.

    • $17,500 of depreciable expense may be directly expensed in one year under the IRS “Section 179” allowance.

Consult your tax accountant about the tax implications.  A helpful publication is the Farmers Tax Guide IRS publication 225 (available online from the IRS) or check out the AOBA (Alpaca Owners & Breeders Association) website (http://www.alpacainfo.com/newsite/invest/taxes.html) for more tax information.

Getting Started
The first thing to decide on is your purpose for raising alpacas.  Are you interested in having a few animals to produce fiber for you personal use? Would you like to breed alpacas to coincide with your current lifestyle?  Are you thinking about beginning a herd now to provide for your retirement?

Whatever you goal or purpose is to invest in alpacas there is no time like the present to begin your research!  Decide whether you want to own a small herd of 3 or 4 alpacas, a medium size herd of about 25 alpacas or a large ranch of over 100 animals.  And don’t forget about the possibility of agisting – boarding you animals on an established farm (which our current arrangement), either temporarily while you prepare your facilities or permanently if your lifestyle does not allow to locate to a farm setting.

A larger initial investment gives you a head start in building your herd.  And not many investments can reproduce themselves every year.  Now is the time to begin your alpaca adventure. 

We love to tell our story and would like to introduce you to our alpacas and the alpaca lifestyle.