Located just north of San Angelo, we are in a small community called Orient, and what a lovely location. Our farm is actually 25 miles north of Downtown San Angelo, on Highway 277.
Vanessa Emmons and Jerry Okopny ventured into the alpaca business in 2002. As with most new alpaca owners, the only experience they had with animals was their 5 cats! But they found, as do a lot of alpaca owners, one look "up close and personal" with these fuzzy animals will win your heart.
Like most alpaca owners will tell you, owning alpacas is a constant learning experience. Alpacas have only been in this country since 1985 and to date there are approximately 100,000 alpacas in the national herd. There are approximately 6,000 alpaca ranches in the USA with a large amount of farms situated in the states of Washington and Ohio, although there are farms in all of the US states.
Alpacas are a wonderful alternative livestock! They provide their owners with a tranquil and profitable lifestyle and produce a luxurious end-product in an assortment of colors ranging from pure white to solid black. This rainbow of soft, warm, lustrous natural fleece provides an opportunity to offer a large range of end products from lacy shawls to rugs, or even quilt batting. There are also a lot of good tax advantages to alpaca ownership. Another plus, other than the wonderful softness, is the fact that alpaca fleece is hypoallergenic for most everyone.
