Don:
I think there are 2 major reasons people become involved with this
alpaca industry. For me, and I know at least a few others, the
lifestyle and the 'no-kill' aspect are very big reasons why we got
involved. IF (all caps) we can make a few dollars at some point,
that's really a wonderful thing and certainly hope it happens. I
don't have the acreage or the finances to be in this business on a
large scale and it isn't what I want anyway. I did come in at a time
when the animals were at top dollar, so would like to be able to
recoup those funds. At the same time, we've seen the economy go down
the toilet, so I'm not going to hold my breath on anything getting
much better any time soon on that front.
My point is that I cannot put a dollar value on the joy, peace, sense
of balance, and just plain overall good feelings that having these
animals brings to me. If I someday get so caught up in the business
aspect that I forget to enjoy my life with alpacas, it will be time
to get out. At the same time, I do appreciate those that are working
it as a true business and making their livelihood from
alpacas........and accept that there are many directions that we will
all need to accept, no matter how unpleasant they may seem......such
as the meat/hide industry.
I only wish to point out that there are those of us still around who
don't do the dollars and cents games to the extent that it makes a
huge difference whether we keep these animals or not....and I
personally believe that the future also rides with a lot more people
who are looking for something more joyful to add to their lives...
That's just my 2 cents!........and I think that if I ever ate alpaca
or llama, it would be because I was literally starving! It just
wouldn't go down otherwise, and maybe not even then.........but I do
value their worth in SA as a good source of protein for the
people.......I'm not South American, though.
Susan
PS I recently ran into a local good ole' boy farmer who told me has
a few buried beef cows on his farm.......they eventually died from
old age after producing annually for him and he meant for them to
stay where they'd lived all their lives instead of going to a
rendering plant.....and he said it with conviction and true love for
those animals! I was truly impressed....
At 06:35 PM 10/31/2008, you wrote:
>Following up on both Mary's and Steve's good comments:
>
>Mary: "It is the older alpaca or the alpaca who has not met the criteria
>for being a fiber animal that gets eaten first." I'm sure this is the case,
>but (as I understand it - I'm not personally knowledgeable in this area) the
>number of alpacas that die of old age is relatively few. In this country we
>seem to believe that even poor fiber animals should be kept and allowed to
>"retire" in peace in our pastures. That is a great model for a pet
>industry, but it isn't a working model for a livestock industry.
>
>Steve: "What is amazing though, is that in the country they come from,
>they are eaten, and in this country, they are worth thousands of dollars."
>I don't know about your area, but in this area it is hard to even give away
>fiber boys. All the sanctuaries are full and not accepting more, and most
>farms have more fiber boys than they want to continue to feed with $20/bale
>hay. If you have an animal that you can't give away, it doesn't matter what
>the price of a prime breeding animal is, the animal you are deciding to cull
>is effectively worth $0 other than for their meat. (If you are paying more
>for shearing than you are getting for the fleece, you are subsidizing even
>the one product you hope to be able to sell.)
>
>I want to think that, just as in the horse and cow
>industries, there will always be some animals that are worth 6 figures or
>more. I personally believe, that just like in those industries, the number
>that will command those values will be very few and far between. I think it
>is very likely that we are approaching the days of $1000 dams, $500 sires,
>and $50 fiber boys (and maybe I'm guessing a bit high). The longer we can
>put off getting there the better, but I don't see this economy turning
>around and people's personal finances getting comfortable enough for them to
>run out and spend 5 figures each on several alpacas just to get into the
>business, at least not very soon. Several alpaca auctions recently have
>had no bids on several of their animals - not even $50 - for animals
>portrayed as top quality alpacas.
>
>Ok, I'll shut up again for awhile. I've probably upset a lot of people with
>my comments. Please accept that it isn't my intent to offend anyone, just
>to look at what I perceive the reality of the situation to be.
>
>Don Stanwyck
>
>Carnation, WA
>
Susan Forman & Eric Jenkins
Dewey Morning Alpacas
423 Greenfield-Sabina Rd.
Washington Court House, OH 43160
740-636-1899 Home
937-901-1509 Cell
http://www.alpacanation.com/deweymorning.asp
Home of Huey, Dewey and Louie
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