Lori Compas
Writer and photographer
Alpacas provide fiber on mid-Missouri farm
(Columbia, Mo.) - Diane Peckham has found a way to
make retirement income off her 50-acre farm while producing beautiful
yarn and taking care of the environment at the same time. She raises
alpacas.
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| Diane Peckham of The Alpaca Company raises alpacas on her farm in Columbia. She sells fiber spun into yarn, as well as knitted items. (Photo by Lori Compas) |
For Peckham, the decision to keep alpacas was an
easy one. “I wanted to keep animals, but I didn’t want to eat
them,” she said. “I knew alpacas were small enough for me to handle,
and the fleece was worth $50 a pound. They were new when I started out,
so I thought they would be a good investment. And I liked the yarn.
Their fiber makes the nicest yarn.”
While the decision to keep alpacas was fairly
simple, actually getting started was more difficult. “They were pretty
expensive,” she said. “I bought two males in 1990, because I
couldn’t afford a female. After I had the guys for a year, I bought a
pregnant female at an auction.”
Her herd has grown over the past decade, and now
Peckham has about 30 animals. “I never have more than 30,” she said.
“That’s what I can take care of.”
As the first alpaca breeder in mid-Missouri, she
has learned a lot along the way, often on her own.
“I didn’t know much when I started out –
there weren’t many people I could ask for advice,” she said. “Now,
when I sell an animal, the buyers get the full lecture. I teach them how
to shear, whether they want to know or not. And I teach them how to feed
them and clean up after them.”
“These animals are not horses, they’re not
cows,” she said. “You have to treat them differently.”
Alpacas are generally considered to be more
environment-friendly than most other livestock. Since they’re camelids,
they don’t need or want as much water. Their padded feet are easy on
pastureland and don’t cause erosion. And their bodies are very
efficient at converting food to energy, so they don’t require as much
grain as other livestock.
In addition to her work with alpacas, Peckham won a
sustainable agriculture grant to breed
black Angora goats. These goats produce mohair, which blends well
with alpaca fiber to make a soft, lustrous yarn.
She said she enjoys working with the fiber. “Some
people just throw the fiber away. I think it’s a really important
part.”
Peckham washes and blends the fiber herself, then
sends it to a processor to be spun into yarn. She sells the yarn, and
she also knits sweaters, scarves, and other items on a knitting machine.
A friend helps out.
Peckham still has some goats, and she’s
experimenting with other ways to improve her farm’s alpaca fiber.
“My on-going goal is to constantly improve the fiber,” she said.
“There’s no end in sight as far as that goes. We’re all constantly
looking at fineness, density, and even breeding
for bigger animals, which of course have more fiber.”
She
takes alpacas to Eldercare several times a year, and she invites school
groups to come to the farm. “This is always an exciting day for the
children,” she said.
Peckham
obviously enjoys working with the animals. “Alpacas are mellow,
curious, family-oriented and observant,” she said. “By watching
their behavior -- for instance, noticing when they’re all staring
in one direction -- you'll realize something is happening in the pasture
and can go investigate.”
Peckham said that humans have had a special relationship with alpacas for a long time. “There is a Quechua legend that addressed the responsibility of caring for these animals,” she said. “It said that if they’re not properly cared for, Mother Earth will call them back and the people will disappear. I was really taken by that.”