National Alpaca Farm Days 2009

Last weekend was “National Alpaca Farm Days”. Both Saturday and Sunday we held an Open House for visitors to come and meet the alpacas. We had alpaca products available for sale. The weather was super hot and humid so we only sold a few skeins of yarn, but our new Paca Poo Tea was a big success! This little darling (above) visited us from a nearby neighborhood. She finally found what she wanted. A precious little alpaca teddy bear.

Alpaca Teddy Bears are SO soft!

Some people came from far away to see the alpacas. These ladies pictured below came all the way from New Orleans. This was their third time to visit our farm. It’s wonderful to have such dedicated “fans” of the alpacas!

These visitors drove over three hours to see alpacas!

I was even able to meet some Twitter friends who came over. What a great opportunity for a Tweet-up. Thanks to @Alli_Flowers for the photo!

Twitter Buddies meet to tweet in person.

Left to right: Adorable children of @subrbanoblivion, @subrbanoblivion, @AlpacaFarmgirl, Lucinda alpaca, @Dmovelle, and @Alli_Flowers.

What a great weekend! Looking forward to our next Open House during the Holidays. Sign up (top right corner) to be on our mailing list if you want to hear about upcoming events.

September 28th, 2009 | Tags: alpaca, alpaca teddy bears, alpaca yarn, Alpacas, National Alpaca Farm Day, National Alpaca Farm Days, Open House | Category: Alpacas, Business Matters, Events, Farm Business | Comments (3)

We are thrilled to announce that our Alpaca Farmgirl Farm Business Blog has been added to Alltop, the magazine rack for online news and popular topics. Specifically, we have been added to the top small business news and the top rural news sections.

At Alltop, you can create your own, personalized magazine page, with its own URL that you can share with others. Here’s Alpaca Farmgirl’s Alltop page. It has great news and stories that interest me! Customize your own Alltop page. What a cool site. We’re honored to be included.

June 8th, 2009 | Tags: Alltop, alpaca, Alpacas, blog, Farm Business, magazine, rural, small business | Category: Business Matters, Farm Business, Resources | Comments (3)

Mow with Alpacas

The Official Google Blog reports that Google has hired goats rather than lawnmowers to take care of their lawn in their Mountain . Why not hire some alpacas to mow? They would provide the same benefit. In addition, you can harvest their fleece once a year and they offer great tax advantages. Let’s face it. They are really cute lawn ornaments!

Leave a comment and tell us what you think.

May 3rd, 2009 | Tags: Alpacas, fleece, goats, google mowing with goats, lawn, lawn ornament, mowing, mowing with alpacas, tax advantages | Category: Alpacas, Business Matters, Farm Business, Husbandry, The Alpaca Lifestyle | Comments (9)

Let’s say you love alpacas. (Who doesn’t?) You keep thinking about buying some, but you haven’t been able to pull the proverbial trigger and DO IT. Here are 7 Reasons why 2009 should be the year you take the plunge.

1. It’s a Buyer’s Market. Buyers call the shots. Prices on everything are down. This includes alpacas. As a Buyer you can negotiate with Sellers and get the herd of your dreams at a super price.
2. This is your opportunity to Buy Low & Sell High. Invest now. In three to five years, when you are ready to sell some breeding stock, the alpaca market will most likely favor the Sellers again. (Particularly if your investment is in high quality stock.)
3. Alpacas are an investment you can insure. In these shaky times, what other investments can you find that can be insured? Alpacas are becoming more mainstream all the time, and are being touted as sound investments on MSNBC and in the Wall Street Journal.
4. Due to compounding, your investment in alpacas grows regardless of the state of the economy. As long as your breeding stock is reproducing, your investment is growing. This year, investments that are guaranteed to grow are few and far between.
5. Tax Advantages. If you qualify, you can take a Section 179 deduction up to $250K through December 31, 2009. After that, the limit is expected to go back down.
6. Why wait? Many people wait around for the “perfect time” to make a big change in their lives. Hint: There is no perfect time.
7. When money becomes an issue, as it is for most people around the world today, it reminds us what is important. At the end of the day, do you love what you do? Do your investments make you happy? Does your job or work make you happy?  If farming is your dream, now is a great time to make your dream come true. Do Your Dream!

See our alpacas for sale and the great values we have available with package pricing at Fairhope Alpacas. Leave us a comment and tell us which was your favorite alpaca on our sales list.

April 17th, 2009 | Tags: alpaca compounding, Alpacas, breeding stock, Buy low & sell high, Buyer's Market, deduction, insure, investment, love alpacas, MSNBC, Section 179, Wall Street Journal | Category: Alpacas, Business Matters | Comments (11)