Family shares alpaca love
By GAYLE WEBER
Robert and DeAnn Baldwin fell in love with the alpaca industry long before they owned an alpaca of their own.
It took a few years of research after that first encounter before the Baldwins purchased their first alpaca in 2006, but the farm has only grown since then.
Now, the Baldwins are doing what they can to educate people about the animals that originate from the Andes Mountains.
"The whole reason we're raising these animals is for one thing -- the fleece," Robert Baldwin said.
Maintaining a consistent diet for the alpacas is essential to getting soft fleece from the animals, he said. As the animals age, their fleece becomes coarser, but with the right amount of nutrients from Crunch, their feed similar to dog food, and monitoring their grazing habits, alpacas' fleece can stay soft.
Alpacas also are used for show with the Baldwins attending two or three shows per year.
"When we go to a show, it is for bragging rights," Robert Baldwin said. "What we're doing is showing the quality and the genetics off."
However, showing the animals can be exhausting for the animals as well as the Baldwins.
"We've all put our sweat and tears into it," said Ranisha Baldwin, 16. Ranisha is responsible for much of the training of the alpacas in the show ring, although sometimes the alpacas that are "ADD-ish" can be trying.
"If I could train them just to lay there and I could lay down with them I would," Ranisha said.
Robert Baldwin said alpacas are very social animals, so taking them into the show ring can be difficult without another animal it's used to running with close by.
"When we pull these animals away from one another, the one left behind is going to experience some separation anxiety," Robert Baldwin said. "They're social creatures and they have to have each other."
The Baldwins used their first Alpaca Farm Day on Saturday to get their animals used to the people, noise and separation they will experience in the show ring at the Mid-America Alpaca Show on Nov. 1 and 2 in Topeka.
They also used the day to delve into agritourism, a relatively new initiative for the state.
"Any kind of specialty livestock or crop that they can make a profit at is something we should support," said Carole Jordan, director of agriculture marketing and community development for the Kansas Department of Commerce.
"There's a market for wool from alpacas and they're bringing back the farm."
DeAnn Baldwin spins the fleece sheared from the alpacas each year. She said a new line of jeans will be available from Gap next year called Paca Blues. To ensure durability, the jeans will contain only about 20 percent alpaca material, but the jeans will be soft and warm because of the alpaca fiber used in them.
The Baldwins are planning to continue to expand their business. They breed other farms' alpacas with their own champion sires, board those alpacas and plan to purchase more of their own.
They also plan to build a home on the farm, located 20 miles southwest of Hays.
Robert Baldwin said the farm will host school groups and other organizations each weekend in May to educate them about alpacas, the history of the farm and the Kansas prairie that borders the farm.
For more information, visit www.fairviewfarmsalpacas.com or visit the farm 1 mile south and 3Ôªø3รขÑ4 miles west of Liebenthal.