BEGINNINGS
Sacred Acres Alpaca Farm was established in 2014 when we purchased our first 4 alpacas — 2 pregnant females and 2 juvenile males. We boarded our alpacas for the first 3 years while we worked on developing the basic farm infrastructure — pasture, shelter, fencing, hay & grain storage. Our herd size grew to 13 by the time we brought them to our farm in 2017. We now have 17 alpacas.
WHY ALPACAS?
Our love for alpacas began with a sweater the owner bought 25 years ago. She “fell in love with the silky feel and the weight and texture of alpaca fiber.” She still wears that sweater on cold winter days.
We are committed to creating a farm that uses ecologically friendly farming methods and conservation. We raise a modest-sized herd on small acreage and, by keeping the herd size small, have enough land capacity to do rotational grazing.
We raise alpacas not only for their exquisite fiber, but also for environmental and aesthetic reasons. They are an easily managed size and temperament. As a livestock animal, they are easy on the environment for several reasons. Because they have toes, not hooves, their feet are gentle on the land. When they graze, they cut the grass rather than pull it. Their waste product, alpaca beans, is excellent fertilizer that can be used immediately on flower gardens. And their fiber, which we sell as yarn, roving and raw fiber, is smooth and silky, soft, hypoallergenic, lightweight and durable.
AGRITOURISM
We strive to provide a productive, educational and entertaining farm experience for farm visitors. On the farm that translates to giving tours where we teach alpaca history and behavior and allow visitors to meet and hand feed our alpacas. For those who want to add extra pleasure to their tour, we offer alpaca walking where you can go on a guided walk and lead one of our alpacas through pastures and woods. We have trails for walking through 23 wooded acres and along Ballenger Creek. There are three picnic areas where visitors can bring their own lunch, relax and enjoy this quiet little piece of the county. An electric golf cart is available to make the farm accessible to those with physical challenges.
We first opened to the public in 2017 for National Alpaca Farm Days, which takes place annually on the last weekend in September. We have a farm store where we sell farm-grown alpaca products along with quality retail alpaca clothing. At the rear of the store is our fiber studio where we do demonstrations of processing raw alpaca fleece up to the point of spinning the carded fleece into yarn. Alpaca related workshops are held periodically throughout the year. We are open for special events that include Fabulous February Fun, Easter Egg Hunt, National Alpaca Farm Days, Halloween on the Farm, and Everything Alpaca for Christmas.
IT TAKES A TEAM
The owner is the ideas person, the visionary, the one who makes the decisions about what happens on the farm. But it takes a team to accomplish what needs to be done to keep the farm operating smoothly. Three staff members take care of the day-to-day hands-on animal husbandry, help take care of equipment and building maintenance, and assist in making tours and other farm activities possible.
INVITATION
Come join us on the farm. Schedule a tour, meet our alpaca herd, visit the store and fiber studio, and spend a few relaxing hours taking in the sights and sounds and activities of our magical alpaca farm.