I know it's starting to seem as if the Rainy Day Ranch has an Animal of the Week (and it all began with the urban chickens), but this just proves the point that I really need a real ranch or farm ASAP. So many animals, so little...land. Because now, in addition to those crazy chickens, silly pygmy goats, and cute-as-buttons baby doll sheep, alpacas have wormed their way into my heart. Alpacas are similar to but much smaller than llamas and are kept for their fiber. Alpaca hair is plentiful and soft and makes wonderful woven material for sweaters and blankets. Alpacas are not cheap--they cost anywhere from a couple thousand to many, many thousands of dollars. I've seen quite a few in the $30,000 to $40,000 range. Hmm--new car or one alpaca? It is obviously going to be a tough choice.
Or is it? I've been looking into alpaca farms and found the Stargazer Ranch in Loveland, Colorado. Stargazer hosts an NBA ("Nothing But Alpacas") Weekend at the Ranch. The weekend includes 16 hours of workshops on the alpaca industry, practical topics (fencing, animal care), and marketing. The Stargazer brochure boasts that, by the end of the weekend, "it will be easy to see why so many families have traded their curb and gutter for irrigation ditches." The brochure asks whether it is likely that my stock portfolio will increase by 100% in the next year. Uh, that would be a "no." Well, then, urges the brochure, I should "consider the compounding advantages of breeding livestock." Will do! The brochure also asks if I'm interested in tax saving opportunities, to which I answer a resounding "yes!" During the NBA weekend, I will learn about the "extensive tax incentives for owners of breeding livestock." Okay, I am sold on alpacas already.
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