SPRINGFIELD, Ky. – Raising alpacas leads to an enjoyable, eco-friendly and financial rewarding lifestyle. But you don’t need to tell that to Todd Allen and Tyler Horton, owners of historic Maple Hill Manor Bed and Breakfast in Springfield, Ky. Both became interested in raising alpacas after seeing one at the 2000 Kentucky State Fair.

“It was love at first sight,” Horton said. “From the animals’ elegant beauty, luxurious fiber and inquisitive personality to their graceful and calming effect on others, we immediately became intrigued. We wanted to learn more about this unique fiber animal and the many benefits afforded in raising alpacas.

“We have truly enjoyed the experience of raising them, while offering our overnight guests an educational learning experience. Alpacas exude personality and charm, exhibit an inquisitive and playful nature, produce one of the world’s finest fibers and are easy to care for and raise.”

After 9/11, Horton and Allen purchased the 150-year-old antebellum mansion known as Maple Hill Manor and embarked on their agriculture adventure: raising alpacas and llamas and operating a Farm Stay bed and breakfast inn.

“Both aspects of the operation have been an ideal complement to one another and have provided an enjoyable, fulfilling and rewarding farm life,” Allen said.

In eastern Kentucky, in the city of Catlettsburg, sits Silver Run Alpaca Ranch. Ranch owner Kevin Toney and his brother, Chris, operate the ranch and have discovered the added value with their eight alpacas (plus one llama). The two have the fleece processed into yarn and use natural dyes to color it. They also weave the fiber into blankets, ponchos, scarves and many other items to sell. They also take commissions.

Alpacas are flourishing in the Bluegrass State. So much so that July has been designated as Kentucky Alpaca Fleece and Fiber Month to call attention to the value alpacas add to the state agriculture.

“Alpacas add a uniqueness to Kentucky’s livestock communities,” Commissioner of Agriculture Dr. Ryan Quarles said. “In addition to the economical benefit they bring the farms that have added them to their numbers, alpacas produce beautiful, soft, cashmere-like fleece. Kentucky’s agricultural economy benefits from alpaca producers because of their focus on fiber and fiber products, agritourism, and breeding for livestock sales and seedstock.”

Alpacas, cousins to the llama, are native to the Andean Mountain range of South America. Alpacas were first imported into the U.S. in 1984. Since then, the alpaca industry has grown steadily, according to the Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association (AOBA), the backbone of the alpaca industry.

Current estimates total over 120,000 registered alpacas with the Alpaca Registry, Inc. (ARI) in the U.S. and more than 4,000 AOBA members in North America. In Kentucky, there are more than 200 mixed-livestock and family farms raising alpacas.

There are two types of alpacas in the U.S. today. Although almost physically identical, they are distinguishable by their fiber. The Huacaya, the more common of the two, has a fluffy, extremely fine coat. The Suri is rarer and has fiber that is silky and resembles pencil-locks.

Adult alpacas stand approximately 36 inches at the withers and generally weigh 150-200 pounds. They do not have horns, hooves, claws or incisors. Alpacas are alert, intelligent, curious and predictable social animals that seek companionship. They communicate most commonly by softly humming.

Alpacas are shorn (without harm) every 12 to 18 months. They produce five to 10 pounds of luxurious fiber, which is purchased as raw fleece by a national fiber cooperative, hand-spinners and fiber artists. Knitters and weavers buy it as yarn.

“We researched and visited farms out-of-state for a year before investing in our starter herd,” Allen said.

Maple Hill Manor was one of the first 10 farms in Kentucky to start raising alpacas. The Alpaca Owners Association says there are now roughly 4,200 alpacas in Kentucky. The Kentucky Department of Agriculture estimates alpacas can be found in every Kentucky county, even if they aren’t involved in a money-making venture.

Kevin Toney, who is a member of the Kentucky Alpaca Association, said the tri-state region hasn’t seen much economic benefit from the alpaca industry yet. He said he believes his business is the only one in the region raising alpaca for fleece and turning it into sellable products. But, he adds, there are people in the area who have alpacas on their land.

“They are nice, exotic animals to have as backyard pets,” Toney said. “And sometimes gentlemen farmers might want them for something that’s different.

“They’re pack animals you need no less than three. They don’t mix well with all animals but because of their relatively close genetics, they can mix with llamas.”

Toney says day-to-day care is easy, with hay, grazing areas and fresh water being the essentials.

Organizers of the Kentucky Sheep & Fiber Festival will hold its second annual Bluegrass Yarn and Fiber Crawl July 28-Aug. 6, which will feature more than 25 retail and farm locations across the state with yard and natural fiber products for sale.

Known better as the Kentucky Fiber Trail, the path runs north and south through the middle of Kentucky, starting in Murray, Ky., and stretching as far north as Mason, Ohio. The trail is both physical and online and allows for local producer outlets the opportunity to market their Kentucky fibers and fiber products from their shops.

One vendor opening its doors during this Kentucky Fiber Trail is Lavender Springs Alpaca of Oil Springs, Kentucky.

“With the need for diversity in agriculture in Kentucky, (alpacas) really bring a piece of something new into the state,” said Lavender Springs Alpaca owner Ashlee Osoway. “The fiber is diverse. It can be used for everything from socks and scarves and shawls to insulation.”

Osoway adds that farms like her own have the opportunity to positively affect the region’s agricultural tourism while educating and celebrating the animals and their many uses.

“There’s a lot of things that are happening with this textile across the U.S., but here in Kentucky, with these farms growing, it’s really important to recognize it and to educate people about it.”

Each location on the trail will set up their own hours throughout the nine-day event. To see the Kentucky Fiber Trail map and the location of all makers, retailers, producers of the fiber go to: https://www.kentuckysheepandfiber.com/trailmap.