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We have started using Facebook so that has pretty much taken the place of our blog page. Please click on the Facebook icon on our home page to go to our Facebook page. The history will remain here if you want to look at past events.
HPRCS 3rd grade field trip
This time the weather cooperated, it was a beautiful day for a field trip!! All got to witness shearing an alpaca and got to lead an alpaca. They learned about how easy they are to take care of and also learned about the uses for the fiber and got to see some of the products that are made from the luxurious fiber. We hope all had fun while learning about the alpacas!!
Great Western Alpaca Show in Denver CO
We went to GWAS this weekend, this is the first time we have gone to this show. It is the biggest show we have ever gone to. It was a level five with over 800 alpacas! We only took 6 alpacas since it was a long trip and we wanted to give them plenty of room to be comfortable in the trailer.Here is how they did, we are very happy with the results!!Golden Elite - 1st placeShareese - 2nd placeReegan - 2nd placeSerena - 2nd placeNavigator - 2nd plac
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Wisconsin Alpaca and Fiber Festival
We went to the show in West Bend Wisconsin this weekend. We didn't do as good as we hoped but some of the reason for that is that we have had dryer weather and the alpacas were full of dust since they love to roll in the dirt! :-)Golden Elite - 2nd placeShareese - 2nd placeHolly - 2nd placeAccoyo Summer - 3rd placeAmazing Grayce - 3rd placeSerena - 4th placeNavigator - 5th placeReegan - 5th placeChancey - 6th place
Iowa Lakes Community College Field Trip
Today we had a group of about 15 students from the vet tech program come to visit our farm. Once again, the weather did not cooperate and it was cold and windy! The questions were different with this group because they were more interested in the health aspect of raising alpacas. We also demonstrated the shearing process even though we will not start shearing the heard until May. Thanks to all who came, it's nice to see the younger generation interest in learning more about alpacas!
MOPACA Alpaca Show in Kansas City, MO
We attended the show in Kansas City this weekend. Overall, we are pleased with the results.Golden Elite - 1st placeNavigator - 1st placeSerena - 2rd placeReegan - 3rd placeAccoyo Summer - 4th placeShareese - 4th placeAmazing Grayce - 5th placeHolly - 6th place
American Alpaca Showcase-Des Moines
This was our last show for 2015. Our juvis are not old enough to show until spring so we just had 3 yearlings to show.Here's how they did: Amazing Grayce-4th Lexi-5th Reegan-3rd
Dordt College Field Trip
Today we had a group of about 35 students come to learn about the environmentally friendly alpacas and their fiber. The weather was cold and breezy but they endured and got to feel the fiber on our alpacas before we moved into the garage to get out of the weather. It was great to hear so many questions about raising alpacas, it shows that they are truly interested in learning about these animals and the growing fiber industry. Thanks to everyone who came, we are happy to help spread the word
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National Alpaca Farm Days open house
Thanks to all who attended our 2015 open house. The weather was great and we met a lot of new people. Also thanks to all who were not able to attend but did visit our website.
Clay County Fair
There was a great turnout at Grandpa's Barn today! We will have some of our alpacas and goats on display there every day of the fair. Stop in and take a look!!
September is here
Wow, September already. That gets me thinking about NAFD (National Alpaca Farm Days). We are participating again this year with an open house to be held September 26th and 27th. Check out www.alpacafarmdays.com for info on this national event!
Our last 2015 cria finally arrives!
We are VERY pleased with this cria, A FAWN FEMALE and full accoyo to boot!! The mom has a strong white background but with the help of Express and Destinati, we pulled out a fawn. Nice fleece, a show girl for sure!No pics yet but some will be coming later.
Got a call from the Clay County Fair.
We have been asked to bring some alpaca moms and babes to Grandpa's Barn at the Clay County Fair again this year! This year we will also be taking some pygmy goat kids too. Please stop by and see the variety of animals on display at Grandpa's Barn.
16 days early, but healthy and cute as a button!!
Little Shareese couldn't wait any longer, she just had to get out! Born early, she weighed in at just 10 pounds.(our smallest cria ever!) It took her a bit longer than normal to get up and nurse but she did and all progressed normally.
First 2015 cria born on our farm arrives!!
This is Holly, sired by 19 time champ Jacob Black and the dam is Holiday who was sired by 15 time champ Knight Rider!! Watch for Holly in our 2016 show string!
1/2 a cria arrives!
We co-own Dutch with Alpacas of the Ark and she had this health fawn boy at their farm!
Wisconsin Alpaca and Fiber Fest
This was the last show of the spring season for us.Results:Mag- 2nd place (great comments from the judge!)Amazing Grayce- 2nd placeJacoby- 4th placeEquinox- 2nd placeLexi- 6th placeTinka- 1st place (considered closely for reserve color champ but, not quite)Reegan- 3rd placeSadie- 5th placeMia- 2nd placeThe show also offered evaluations outside the ring. The evaluation judge was Sharon Loner and when we showed her Mag
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MOPACA Invitational Alpaca Show
Lots of spectators at this years show!Here's how we did:Amazing Grayce- 3rd placeMia- 2nd placeLexi- 5th placeTinka- 4th placeReegan- 4th placeSadie- 2nd placeJavelina- 3rd place
AOA National Show
This was our first opportunity to attend Nationals, competition was tough!!Here are the results:Amazing Grayce- 2nd placeMia- 5th placeTinka- 5th placeReegan- 5th placeSadie- 6th placeJavelina- 6th placeNext year Nationals will be in Indiana so that is too far away for us to attend.
American Alpaca Showcase
It is GREAT to have a show in Iowa again!!We attended and here are the results:Mia- 2nd placeTinka- 3rd placeSadie- 4th placeJavelina- 2nd placeMarisol- 6th placeWe plan to attend in 2015 too!!
2014 National Alpaca Farm Days
Thanks to all who came to our open house to help make it another success!! The weather cooperated again this year and we had a great turnout. Feel free to contact us if you have questions or if you would like to come for a visit!
Clay County Fair Turnout
Great turnout at Grandpa's Barn at the Clay County Fair!! The barn had a variety of unique animals including 4 of our alpacas.
2014 Spring Shows
MOPACA-Kansas City:Mag - 2ndEquinox - 4thPilot - 5thTinka - 3rdSadie - 2ndDeseray - 3rdMarisol - 6thMia - 2nd (in Beige class) MAE-Owatonna, MN:Mag - 1stTinka - 2ndDeseray - 2ndHoliday - 4thEquinox - 2ndPilot - 3rdSadie - 3rdWisAFF-West Bend, WI:Mag - 1stMia - 1st and R.Color Champ!Equinox - 5thPilot - 6thTinka - 1stHoliday - 3rdSadie - 4th
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Thank You!
Thanks to all who were able to visit our farm on National Alpaca Farm Days. We had fun meeting everyone and are excited to see so many people who are interested in alpacas and products made from their fiber!If you weren't able to attend, please feel free to contact us and arrange a visit.
2013 National Alpaca Farm Day
It’s Fun AND it’s Free! Alpaca Farms and ranches across America are welcoming visitors of all ages during National Alpaca Farms Days… Saturday and Sunday, September 28th and 29th. Meet the alpacas face to face feel their soft luxurious fleece. Many farms have their own stores featuring beautiful alpaca apparel and other products that are softer warmer and hypoallergenic for comfort beyond compare. It’s your opportunity to learn all about the livestock and lifestyle directly from your neighbo
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2013 Show Season
Sorry, I did not get the show results posted this spring as I planned but here is a summary of our spring 2013 show season. We were only able to attend 3 shows this spring, but are quite happy with the results.MOPACA-Kansas City:Mag - 1stTanekan Knight - 2ndShaqira - 6thOdyssey - 6thMAE-Owatonna, MN:Mag - 1stShaqira - 3rdHoliday - 4thBlu Moon - 4thGMAF-Madison, WI:Mag - 1st and R.Color Champ!Pilot -
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Ninth and Final 2012 Cria!
Carolina had a white full accoyo female on Tuesday 10/23/12. No picture yet but will try to add one later.
Eigth 2012 Cria
Venus had this classic grey boy 10/1/12!The sire is Marathon!
National Alpaca Farm Days
Thanks to those who were able to attend our open house last weekend!! Also, thanks to those who were not able to attend but contacted us through our website, we look forward to meeting you in the future!!
Seventh 2012 Cria
Reina had this black male cria on the first day of fall-9/22/12! He weighed in at a healthy 19 pounds! The sire is our own Knight Rider.
Sixth 2012 Cria
The weekend brought us another girl! She is from Clever Cutie and the sire is Knight Rider.Born Saturday 9/15/12.
Fifth 2012 Cria
This black boy was born this morning!!No, this is not a duplicate entry.This one is a result of pairing Cambry with Knight Rider.
3rd & 4th 2012 Crias
Third 2012 Cria - This was Shakota's first cria and our farms first from this bloodline. Boy were we surprised at his color when he arrived!!Fourth 2012 Cria - This little boy was born 9/7/12. The black male was just born this morning! He is the result of pairing Levitica with Knight Rider.
Second 2012 Cria
Our 1/2 Accoyo black (Bella) went into labor on Labor Day and this was the result!A black female born 9/3/12 sired by Knight Rider!
Our firsst 2012 cria has arrived!!
Full Accoyo White Female Cria born 8/31/12She is a full sister to "White Diamond" born last year. White Diamond did well in the spring shows.
Test Drive
The weather has cooled down and it is a great time for a farm visit! We would like to sell some alpacas to make room for our 2012 crias. If you are not sure if you want to own alpacas, try our "Test Drive" program for new farms starting within 50 miles of us! Contact us for a no obligation visit soon.
Spring Shows
We are looking forward to showing most of our spring 2012 show string again as yearlings in the spring 2013 shows. With most of them being fall crias, they will have much better fiber development next spring with 10 to 11 months of growth. Last spring the fall crias only had about 6 to 7 months growth and the judges commented that it was hard to judge the shorter growth.4:37 pm cdtGMAF in Madison in April 2012-Show resultsMag Knight (silver grey) 5th out of 8.
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2012 Cria Season
August marks the beginning of our 2012 cria season! We had no spring crias this year but will have our crias coming in August, September, and a couple in October. We will try to start doing a better job of updating when the cria start arriving.
Small Breeder's Challenge
We will post more details on all the shows later but for now here are the pictures that we have. We had a great weekend at the Small Breeders Challenge last weekend!
New Alpaca Page
We now have our alpaca page set up. We will continue to update and enhance it in the future.
Fall Crias
Crias
Just 6 Days Old
Our latest addition born August 8, 2011 - six days old in these photos.
Our New Additions