Category Archives: Alpaca Business

Alpacas as an Investment

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If you are still wondering if investing in alpacas is a wise investment… consider the following article on Feb 4, 2012 from Smart Money Today.

Alpacas as an Investment

“You may have heard that Alpacas make a great investment because of their high annual yields of fiber and the lucrative income it can provide. But did you also know that the tax code makes offers for huge benefits to Alpaca owners?

Whether you’re an individual with the ability to raise an Alpaca for fiber on a small farm or breed alpacas to shear or sell on a larger area of land, the tax code is full of deductions that will makeinvesting in an Alpaca even more profitable than many other forms of investment.

Section 179** of the tax code allows for taxpayers to begin claiming deductions for some capital assets, the things purchased as investments toward profits, as soon as they are purchased. Alpacas are among the limited number of purchased investments that are included in this section. These are benefits that you will not be eligible to receive if you put money toward a traditional investment opportunity, like buying stock or a CD.

If you own an Alpaca for over a year, it is subject to capital gains tax, like most other investments. Capital gains are profits from an investment that has been resold. Your initial livestock will be subject to this provision if you sell them, as will any offspring from your livestock.

At the end of the day, Alpacas are a form of investment that offer significant and unique tax deductions that will start benefitting you as an investor right away. As long as you keep them, you won’t need to pay capital gains taxes, so Alpacas can be a great long-term investment opportunity. Or, if you choose to sell them, take the profit and pay the capital gains taxes on the sale, you still come out ahead—you will have accumulated enough tax benefits between the time of purchase and the sale to compensate for paying livestock capital gains taxes on your Alpacas.”

Add to all of this that alpacas are 100% insurable. Can stocks do all of this?

(Make sure that you consult a tax advisor for specifics as they relate to you.)

**February 8th, 2012 – The “Tax Relief Act of 2010″ and the “Jobs Act of 2010″ had a substantial positive impact on Section 179 for the 2012 Tax Year – below is quoted from “section179.org”:

  • 2012 Deduction Limit – $139,000
  • 2012 Limit on Capital Purchases – $560,000
  • 2012 Bonus Depreciation – extended the 50% bonus depreciation on qualified assets placed in service during 2012

© Copyright 2012 Smart Money Today All Rights Reserved

Midwest Alpacas for Sale

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As with every business, retirement is inevitable. These females are the best and the last of a well established herd. The owner, a long-time leader in our industry and I just had another talk about the details on these beautiful females. She has been so reluctant to let them go that I know that is why they are still available. However, she is willing to sweeten this offer and pay for the board and care for up to two full months. That way you can take ownership now and take some time to get your farm ready for them. She is finally willing to let her gorgeous girls go to a new home.

Shorn on 4/11

This is a high quality 4 in 1 package (3 females ready to breed and a yearling female) from the Midwest . What an opportunity to get retained fineness from this line at a ridiculously low price!

http://Alpacas4Less.com/BSA024.htm

Females of this caliber and consistency do not come along for sale very often. These beautiful ladies are ready to be transported to your farm right away or in the near future.

If you are even the slightest bit interested in adding great genetics from Full Peruvians, Full Accoyos, the likes of Caligula, Vengador, Camilio, Hemingway, 4Peruvian Legacy, 5Peruvian Chaccu and Crescent Moon’s Titanium then you owe it to yourself to check it out and see what’s available.

The statistics from the histograms (fiber characteristics) are included. If you need help understanding why this is an exceptional group of females… just contact me and I’ll be happy to interpret the results for you.

http://Alpacas4Less.com/BSA024.htm

It’s on a first come first served basis and this is the perfect time to start your alpaca business, or add to your existing herd with great genetics, great dispositions, great fleece and just all-around great girls at great prices.

 

Ten Tips to Happy Alpacas

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Alpacas can adapt to the heat of our summer days as long as they have cooler nights to recover. When nighttime temperatures stay in the upper eighties, this tends to create an accumulated effect and gives reason to take special precautions to avoid heat stress.

Alpacas Love Water

Another point to keep in mind pertains to high humidity when coupled with high temperatures. When you combine the temperature and the percentage of humidity you get a “heat index value.” A value over 120 degrees can be extremely stressful and gives grounds for taking additional safety measures.

For happy alpacas keep these ten tips in mind.

1)    Always shear your alpacas as a first line of defense in hot weather. We set up our shearing day with our shearer a year in advance and make a fun event out of the day. If you only have a few alpacas, then consider joining your herd with another established herd. Many alpaca farms set-up cooperative shearing days with other local farms.

2)    Always provide plenty of cool water to drink throughout the day. We put extra water buckets out along the fence line in the shade during the hottest months of the summer. Keep them full of fresh water and remove the algae which may grow in the buckets. If you use automatic waterers be sure to keep them free of accumulated “gunk!”

3)    Always provide a shady area for them to rest. Even though they may choose to lie in the full sun and “sunbathe” they will move into the shade to cool off part of the day. Keep some of their food source in the shade as well if you can.

4)    Provide a large industrialized fan & misters in the areas where they congregate when the temperatures rise. If you have a swamp cooler, you may notice how they cush right in front of the cool air source.

5)    Provide free choice mineral salts in small feeders around the hay source. We use Stillwater Minerals brand of the Lama-Min 104. This is specially formulated for alpacas. www.StillwaterMinerals.com

6)    Discuss with your vet or other breeders the type of electrolytes to add to their water source. We use a “Cherry” flavored powder that we add to every-other water bucket. That way they can self choose if they wish to drink it or not. Some people mix a Gatorade Powder with water to a strength of ¼ the recommended amount on the label. Be sure to mix a fresh batch every day as it spoils quickly.

7)    Do not breed your males in the heat of the day, they could become overheated and go temporarily sterile. If you choose to breed during the summer months, then breed early or later in the day.

8)    If you have new born cria, be sure to monitor the cria’s nursing behavior.  They can easily become dehydrated during the warmest part of the day. Observe how often they nurse and get underneath their mom. The rule of thumb is every hour to two is normal. Every half-hour is suspect for poor milk production and every 10 – 15 minutes means there is probably something wrong and you need to intervene to determine how serious. As the cria gets older, they will start to eat hay and may be nursing less often. Just observe the routine and check out anything that appears unusual.

9)    Provide extra hosing of their legs & bellies with cool water. My girls come running to my hose when I announce “Shower time Girls”… shower time!” Just keep the water accumulation off their backs where it could create an increased humid condition and raise their heat stress level.

10)    If you must transport or keep the alpacas in an enclosed area, be sure to provide air circulation. Some transporters run air conditioned units in the big trailers, others just have open windows.

So in conclusion, I hope these tips helped you think about the ways you can keep your alpacas comfortable during the hottest part of the summer day. Please feel free to share these tips with your fellow alpaca breeders. I also invite you to post your tips to the comment section of our:  www.ProfitingWithAlpacas.com

Here’s to you and your alpacas enjoying a wonderful summer.

Alpaca United Inaugural Meeting

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Hi Alpaca Enthusiast!

I wanted to share some very exciting news with you about the alpaca industry.

Finally there is a consorted effort to recognize alpaca fiber as an economic opportunity for the public.  Alpaca United has been formed as a legal entity that is creating a brand for products made from USA raised alpacas. The CEO, Nick Hahn, who is famous for creating the brand for “Cotton” is at the helm of this “United” effort.

Here is an invitation for anyone who would like to learn more about this initiative first hand. I know that you will be hearing more about this group in the coming months. If you are a member of AOBA, you are probably receiving these emails. If you are not, then let me know that you would like to be on the list to get the latest information about the branding progress. We will make sure that you get the announcements first hand. There is an opportunity to become an investor, if you wish to get more involved. However; this email is not a solicitation… only sent for information.

Here are the particulars for your review.

ALPACA UNITED INAUGURAL MEETING

Friday May 20, 2011 7pm

Welcome to Alpaca United, the exciting new fiber company causing a “buzz” among breeders, processors and industry service providers from coast to coast!

Friday May 20, 2011 at 7:00 PM during the AOBA Nationals in Denver, CO you will have an opportunity to participate in the Inaugural Meeting where company officials will explain why, how, when and where Alpaca United is performing as the first ever industry-wide branding, marketing and research initiative dedicated to adding value to alpaca FIBER!

Chairman, Lee Liggett-NM; Visionary and Legal/Financial sub-committee Chairperson, Claudia Raessler-ME and CEO, Nick Hahn-CT will be on hand as well as several Alpaca United Steering Committee members to answer questions and conduct interviews.

Be there and be the first to be awed as we unveil the new mark, logo and tagline for Alpaca United, L3C.

Alpaca United is not about “us” or “you”, it is the national, for-profit, textile fiber company that unites “us;” all alpaca owners, growers, breeders, processors and enthusiasts, against “them,” those other fiber suppliers to the global textile industry. We know how good North American alpaca fiber is in all its colors, types and styles, isn’t it time the rest of the world knew?!

Developed by Design & Voice, a professional ad agency, Alpaca United will be readily associated with other luxury brands in the textile and garment industry. Part of our push to close the loop between alpaca fiber producers and alpaca fiber end users, our new mark will give the viewer the right impression and the right message the first time! The entire Steering Committee eagerly looks forward to sharing this excitement with you! The grand unveiling happens only at the Inaugural Meeting!

Everyone is welcome and invited to attend… it’s free. Advance registration is recommended but not required. If you wish to register… click here for the details

What Color is Your Alpaca?

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Alpacas of Anza ValleyFor Alpaca Enthusiasts that are new to the business, would you like to know some of the lingo? I remember when I was new and I felt like breeders were speaking a different language. They kept using abbreviations and making assumptions that I understood what they meant. In the beginning I didn’t even know where to go to get a translation. This was especially evident when someone was describing an alpaca’s color. So here is a list of the 16 natural fiber colors represented by the Alpaca Registry (ARI) used on the ARI certificate that shows the pedigree of each registered alpaca. These colors are the standard abbreviations used for suris and huacayas, and when placing alpacas in all the show classes.

 

ARI Natural Fiber Colors & Chart Codes LSG Light Silver Grey
W White LB Light Brown MSG Medium Silver Grey
B Beige MB Medium Brown DSG Dark Silver Grey
LF Light Fawn DB Dark Brown LRG Light Rose Grey
MF Medium Fawn BB Bay Black MRG Medium Rose Grey
DF Dark Fawn TB True Black DRG Dark Rose Grey

Registration Tips

When you register your new alpaca make sure that you follow the guidelines that ARI provides for selecting the best color match. It is best to order a Color Chart from the ARI website: www.AlpacaRegistry.com. Here’s a quote from ARI on the way to use the color chart. “When identifying the color of an alpaca’s fleece, take a clip of fiber as close to the skin as possible. Match the cut end to the closest color on the fiber chart. If the color matches a shade, record this match. If you find the color is darker than one shade but lighter than the next, it should always be categorized with the darker shade.”

If your alpaca has more than one color present on the body, head or legs, there is a place on the registration for you to note that. When checking the color for the body, use the side in the midsection portion about 4 – 6 inches below the midline.

Color Checkers at a Show

Of course, for the show, the Color Checker will use the chart next to the skin with the fleece still attached. Sometimes the color checker will come up with a different color than the one on the ARI certificate. If you question that decision, you have an opportunity to be seen by a judge before they start the show. The judge will always have the final say. Just ask the checker when that will be done and arrange to have a neutral party take your alpaca to the judge.

Just thought that you’d like to know some of the insider info…