Chelsea Farms was established in 1998, with the purchase of a former thoroughbred farm in Renton, WA and the acquisition of 24 suris and huacayas from the last Bolivian importation. Further purchases and breeding increased the herd to 170 by 2007, still maintaining a ratio of about 2/3 suris and 1/3 huacayas. At that time, the decision was made to sell all the huacayas and focus solely on the suris.

The opportunity to acquire the Latah Creek suri herd in 2008 brought a whole new dimension to our suri program. Jack and Kelly Armstrong`s suris have a world-wide reputation for excellent conformation and exquisite fleece. Their breeding program has produced herdsires in use as far away as Australia..

Breeding champion quality suri alpacas can be an arduous process. Identifying and selecting pre-potent herdsires through data collection and analysis of their offspring and matching them with complimentary females is not always an easy task. Fortunately, if a breeder has a high quality base of breeding stock and avoids self-deception in the analysis of data, his/her efforts will often produce champion quality offspring. Breeding high quality "pure-bred" livestock is a combination of part art and part science. Much of the Latah Creek success can be attributed to the fact that they have utilized measurable production records, such as laser histograms, annual shearing weights, and reproductive efficiency, to make breeding and selection decisions and the Armstrongs are justifiably proud of the consistent high quality of their suri alpacas. But, above that they, like we, covet an excellent reputation and integrity as the most valuable and rewarding asset for any person or business. You can buy from us with the confidence that your investment is backed by one of the industry`s best - yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Part of our decision to focus on suris was to reduce the overall herd size as we were reaching the capacity of our facilities and, while adding 80 more suris may seem an odd path to downsizing, it does create an exceptional opportunity for suri breeders as we take the combined herd of 200 suris to our original target.

The Latah Creek motto "In Continual Pursuit of Perfection" will continue uninterrupted here. We too are committed to perfecting the suri alpaca and invite you to share in our passion.

Thank you for visiting,

Randy and Beth Brealey