Alpaca (and Career) Saving with Matthew Modine

By ALYSIA GRAY PAINTER

Alpacas? Sweet. Sweet faces, soft hair. We just want to say that up front. We're sweet on those fuzzy camelids.

And when we say we've been laughing about the name of the new play that opened on September 8th at the Geffen Playhouse -- "Matthew Modine Saves the Alpacas" -- we of course are not laughing at alpacas.
Well, sometimes, when they're chewing. Because they're so cute and comical.

Nor are we laughing at Mr. Modine. "Vision Quest"? You adore that movie, too. But the whole idea behind the new play from Blair Singer is inspiring the guffaws. The plot: A once-famous actor who has seen his star set takes up a cause to return him to the headlines. That cause: the alpaca. The star: Matthew Modine.

Is there a bit of winking going on here? Why yes, in fact. There is.

There are few subjects riper for satire than celebrities and their various causes. In some cases, the cause is brought to the forefront of our minds by being attached to a big name, which is a good thing. But we've all wondered, on occasion, okay, frequently, about the famous person who uses his soapbox to further his fortunes.

And, before we go. Stars starring in things as sly versions of themselves: love. "Being John Malkovich" with John Malkovich and "Cold Souls" with Paul Giamatti as Paul Giamatti are two examples. We want more, playwrights/screenwriters of the world. More!

"Matthew Modine Saves the Alpacas" is at the Geffen Playhouse from September 8th-October 18th.

Number of alpaca farms growing in the Wiregrass

Romeo loves Juliet.
His affection is clear in the way he follows her around the yard, frolics with her in the dirt, nibbles at her fur and sniffs her ... uh, well, you know.
Alas, Romeo will have to wait. Juliet, born in April, is too young for Romeo, himself born in November. As a female alpaca, Juliet needs to be 18 months old before she can mate and have a baby alpaca, called a cria. But Romeo and Juliet’s young love affair leaves owner Chris Miller hopeful of the area’s growing alpaca population.
Miller and his wife, Sue Ellen, started alpaca farming nearly a year ago after attending National Alpaca Farm Day. Their Wicksburg farm, called Humming Hills Alpacas (named for the alpaca’s penchant for humming), is now home to six alpacas.
“They’re a lot like cats,” Chris Miller said. “They’re very curious. They want to be around you, but they don’t want you to invade their space.”
For the second year, local alpaca farmers will participate in National Alpaca Farm Day. Last year’s event only had two farms — one in Ozark and one in Dothan. This year’s event, set for Sept. 27 and 28, will have five local alpaca farms (two at one location) open for the public to visit and get a closer look at these creatures.
Native to the Andes Mountain range of South America — particularly Peru, Bolivia and Chile — alpacas are camelids and cousins to the llama. They were first imported to the United States in 1984, according to the Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association. Today there are more than 120,000 alpacas registered with the Alpaca Information Management System.
Since last year’s farm day, there have been at least three new alpaca farms started in the Wiregrass.
“We’ve seen a big interest since alpaca farm day last year,” said Jerry Sanders, who owns Alabama Peanuts and Pacas in Ozark. “Of course, we had nearly 300 people in attendance last year over the weekend. We sold animals after the event last year ... Last month, we sold nine alpacas to new farms. We just delivered four two weeks ago to a new farm in Andalusia.”
When the Millers visited Oak-Leigh Peacocks and Alpacas in Dothan last year, they didn’t intend to become alpaca farmers.
“We had five acres, and we weren’t doing anything with it,” Miller said.
They helped out on local alpaca farms to get a feel for the work involved. They outfitted some of their property with fencing. A group a Great Pyrenees dogs share the network of pens with the alpacas. The big territorial dogs leave the alpacas alone, but chase off potential predators.
An alpaca doesn’t come cheap. Average is around $10,000 and up to $30,000 per animal. Some can cost much more. Herds don’t grow quickly. A female alpaca will carry a cria for nearly a year before giving birth. And they only have one cria at a time. It can be several years before a farmer makes any money off fiber.
Sanders has about 28 to 30 alpacas in his herd.
“They’re gentle animals — fluffy and huggable,” Sanders said. “You just want to go up and grab them and hug them. They’re the type of animal people want to put their hands on.”
Alpacas are herd animals; it’s not recommended to have just one. Their fiber is soft, lightweight and warm but without the itchy feeling of wool. It’s a popular yarn for clothing in South America. It’s also naturally hypoallergenic and comes in 22 natural colors. Because of their furry coats, alpacas have to be watched carefully in the summer, especially here in the South. Miller puts out kiddie pools for his alpacas and will hose them down on a regular basis to keep them cool.
While skittish of unfamiliar adults, alpacas seem to have no problem with children. Why that is, breeders don’t know for sure. But it’s an aspect of their personalities that make the farm day event fun.
“They’re not at all threatened by kids,” Miller said. “It’s like they sense they’re a little one.”

Alpacas earn livestock designation

McPherson County -
The 2008 Farm Bill, passed by Congress in July, officially designated alpaca as farm livestock.

The designation gives credibility to alpaca and defines the animal as a valuable livestock product of the United States.

With the federal designation, alpaca breeders can take advantage of programs offered by the United States Department of Agriculture and other farm programs, which include grants, loans, disaster assistance, end-product marketing and technical assistance.

Jodie Stickney, owner of Smokey Valley Alpacas, an alpaca farm in northeast McPherson County, said she hopes the access to federal grants and low-interest farm loans will draw more people to alpaca ownership and breeding.

“It’s nice to be able to steer customers to financial resources,” Stickney said of the new loans and grants available to alpaca owners.

“Before this, many owners and breeders didn’t have access to low-interest farm loans. Many times people had to use home mortgages to finance start-up costs.”Alpaca are a very distant cousin of the llama. They originated in the Andes Mountains of South America and have slowly made their way into the U.S. They have thick fur that is sheered annually and sold internationally.

Alpacas are intelligent, people-oriented animals. They feed on hay and require only a small mineral tablet. The animals’ waste has no odor and is nitrogen-free.Alpaca wool, which is silky and has no known allergens, occures in 25 different, natural colors. It has become an international commodity and has become a favorite of many high-end designers.

Alpaca fiber is exported internationally, Stickney said, but because there is currently not enough alpaca owners in the U.S. to bulk-export the fiber to companies, owners much contract with private companies on an individual basis.

But Stickney is hopeful that the animal’s new designation as livestock will draw more families to the animal, creating a larger U.S. alpaca population and enticing more companies to become involved in alpaca fiber collection and processing.

“With the designation, the government will now offer low-interest financing for those types of operations and businesses,” Stickney said. “Right now alpaca owners are having to do a lot of that work themselves so it will benefit the owners as well.”

Urban families will also be able to raise alpaca on the same land used for livestock or horse grazing because alpaca will be classified as livestock and not an exotic animal. Stickney said her alpaca farm has also become part of both Kansas and McPherson County’s growing agro-tourism businesses and believes that more alpaca farms would benefit the state by providing a valued export and low-cost rural industry.

“We can only grow from here,” Stickney said. “I have seen interest in alpaca product increase three-fold in the past five years. We are always more than willing to help start up farms and answer any questions about the animals.”

West Deer alpaca breeder left corporate living for 'huggable investment'

Chewbacca is a stud.

The champion alpaca struts around Silvercloud Farm, where he's apparently loved by the ladies and envied by other males.

"We have about a dozen of his babies now," breeder Jim Humphreys said, watching the lanky animal head across the pasture toward a herd of females.

A decade ago, Humphreys never imagined he'd be playing matchmaker to livestock. The North Allegheny graduate toiled in advertising for a while, always dreaming of a simpler life in the country.

In 2000, Humphreys and his wife, Helen, moved out of their suburban townhouse and bought a 10-acre parcel in West Deer. A large, empty barn sat on the property, waiting to be occupied.
After researching alpacas, the couple toured the country, visiting farms that raise the South American creatures for their luxurious fleece -- known in ancient times as the "fiber of the gods."

A few months later, they bought their own 15-head herd. That number now hovers around 60.
Unlike horses, sheep or cattle, alpacas have padded feet that are easier on the land.

Farmhand J'Nay Wuenstel spends most of her day cleaning up after the alpacas. But she doesn't seem to mind. Her own house is teeming with pets.

"Basically, I just love animals," she said.

With their long necks, spindly legs, shaggy heads and inquisitive eyes, alpacas look like they stepped off the pages of a Dr. Seuss book.

"They call it the 'huggable investment' because they're kind of cute," Humphreys explained, patting Colonel Mustard.

The small, tan-colored alpaca hums as if to affirm the statement. The farmer smiles and scratches the little guy under his chin.

"He's like my PR alpaca."

The United States imported alpacas from 1984 through 1998, thousands of years after the Incas first domesticated the beasts. There are about 100,000 registered alpacas in North America.

Bringing in more would require approval from the national Alpaca Owners & Breeders Association.

Pennsylvania is home to about 200 alpaca farms, with more than a dozen in the Pittsburgh region.

Helen recently completed her term as president of the Pennsylvania Alpaca Owners & Breeders Association, or PAOBA.

Twice a year, the Humphreys manage an alpaca auction at Mountaineer Race Track & Gaming Resort in Chester, W.Va., about an hour south of Pittsburgh. They sell some of their herd, and animals from other farms.

Although the alpaca industry is competitive, it maintains a familial atmosphere.

Silvercloud Farm co-owns Chewbacca with Absolute Alpacas in Southern California. During the winter, the alpha male heads West so he can sire babies -- known as crias -- all year long.

His offspring are a hot commodity on the alpaca market. They are sheared each spring, producing anywhere from 2 to 12 pounds of fleece, which is soft, like cashmere, but lighter and warmer than wool.

The Humphreys run a small store on their property, where people can buy sweaters, socks, scarves and teddy bears. Alpaca meat, however, is not on the menu (at least not in this country).
"That's part of the reason we chose alpacas -- we wanted to raise something we wouldn't have to slaughter," Humphreys says. "You get attached. I wouldn't want to eat Chewbacca."