Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Shearing aka Fleece Harvest 2014
One of our favorite times of the year is the fleece harvest from our herd! Alpaca shearing requires a lot of hard work and planning. Our shearing weekend is exhausting but it’s fun to watch the beautiful fiber taken off with each stroke of the shearer’s hand.
We wait a year to grow these fleeces so it’s a rewarding process to bag up each animal’s fiber and prepare it for the mill. We send our prime fiber and seconds to be processed into yarn and roving. The thirds are used in dog and cat beds so there is no waste at our farm, something we are proud of.
For any of you out there that don’t know this, you CAN make money on your fiber. We have chosen a vertical integration business model, which means we process our raw fiber into finished products (mostly in yarn). This model has been successful for us since we offer our products in our farm store as well as attend many farmers markets and other events to sell. We know many people who sell their raw fleeces right off the animal, but we have chosen to take it to the next level, which means higher profit in our pockets.
Of course it wouldn't be possible without the expertise of our shearer Kim Rooney. She does a tremendous job and takes extra time on each animal to make them gorgeous. Taking the time to trim their faces, legs and every little tuft of fiber makes a big difference. Our animals look and feel better after each shearing!
The help from friends and family always makes for an enjoyable time! Stephanie Endicott & Grace Montgomery, what would we do without you girls? Thank you both so very much. It's nice to have the 2014 harvest done, and yes - we are looking forward to next year already!