This website serves Farmers and Ranchers in the Kansas AgriTourism Industry.
Welcome to Kansas AgriTourism!
This website has been developed specifically for Kansas farmers and ranchers involved in AgriTourism, rural properties where the traveler has an opportunity to experience farm and country life far from the hustle of the city.
the Kansas Agriculture Marketing Division and the Travel and Tourism Division of the Department of Commerce
and with financial assistance from Frontier Farm Credit.
We invite you to explore this website to find a variety of articles and resources that will help you succeed in agritourism.
If you have any questions, please contact the Department of Commerce, Travel and Tourism Division, and ask for the Agritourism Liaison.
|
This Month's Featured Destination:
 Kansas Alpaca Company
She’s more than just another pretty face.
She is Arwen, a friendly, curious, and entirely lovable alpaca. Arwen stands a little less than 36” at the withers, weighs about 150 lbs, and she will produce about 4-8 lbs of luxurious, lanolin-free fiber each year.
Arwen is expecting, and will produce her first cria (Spanish for “creation”) in the fall. As breeding stock, this attractive female with great bloodlines will sell for about $16,500.
 Arwen is one of about 45-50 huacaya alpaca that visitors can see and touch at the Kansas Alpaca Company in Ottawa, Kansas, owned and managed by Bonnie Samuel and her husband, Bill DeBois. Since there are still only about 40,000 alpaca in the U.S., a stop at the farm is a delightful and interesting visit for children and adults alike.
Visitors can email or call ahead, or often just drop in, but the company also has special Alpaca Farm Days about every two months. The next Alpaca Farm Day is Saturday, March 18, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visitors are taught about alpaca livestock, take photographs with the animals, and tour the farm.
The Fiberwear Shop, displaying an abundance of clothing and items made with natural animal fiber, is open too. The alpaca fiber is a very fine, dense fiber something like cashmere, providing good thermal retention while breathing better than wool. The fact that alpaca fiber contains no lanolin is also very desirable for those who find wool to be itchy.
 Alpaca
The Great Oz, born in July, will likely grow to be a fine example of Arwen’s counterpart. The adult male may weigh as much as 200 lbs, and will yield 6-12 lbs of fiber each year. Bonnie explains that much of the female’s nutrients are consumed in an 11.5-month gestation period, so they produce less fiber each year.
Alpaca are ruminants, meaning they produce rumen, chew their cud and process a modest amount of food very efficiently. Their diet consists of grass hay and nutrient pellets, and Bonnie says an alpaca only eats about a bale of hay per month. They are also very healthy animals requiring very little veterinary attention.
Shearing and Fiber Processing
A favorite time for visitors is the annual Shearing Day, which will occur this year on April 9. “The alpaca love shedding those big wooly coats,” Bonnie said. “Visitors agree that the animals seem delighted to get rid of their big heavy coats.”
 “Once a year, a professional crew of New Zealanders come in; they travel the U.S. shearing sheep and alpaca. As the fleece comes off, every ounce is carefully weighed and evaluated for quality, sorted, and graded for processing. The value of any alpaca comes down to the quality and volume of his/her fiber, the ability to hold that value over his productive years, and whether he passes this heritable trait on to the progeny.
Bonnie said that Kansas has one of the best fiber processing mills in the country, The Shepherd’s Mill (www.kansasfiber.com), in Phillipsburg, Kansas.
“Shepherd’s Mill is owned by Sally Brandon, who is very knowledgeable and very skilled at processing all types of fibers,” Bonnie said. “Sally also spearheaded the Central Plains Fiber Festival that brings fiber producers together to learn and form working relationships. It’s a small industry, and this festival is an important place to network.” The festival will be April 21-23 in Phillipsburg.
 Education and Herd Growth
A variety of other opportunities are available for visitors to learn more about alpacas, and the use of alpaca fiber. Educational classes are offered in knitting and weaving alpaca fiber, along with classes on fiber technology, alpaca herd production, and alpaca as an entrepreneur investment.
“Each year, more and more people become interested in raising alpaca,” Bonnie said. “Retirees, among others, appreciate that these animals are not only enjoyable, they are low maintenance. They don’t require a lot of acreage, they eat very little, they have very low veterinary needs, and they provide a good return on the investment.”
Alpaca in the U.S. are registered and DNA tested. Bonnie and Bill started their herd several years ago in Santa Fe, NM and have a strong commitment to the development of a superior quality national herd and fiber markets. Bonnie says that their breeding program is always evolving as they work with and learn from the leading experts in alpaca health, nutrition, genetics, physiology, reproduction and fiber.
 Marketing and Sales
“With backgrounds in business development and organization, marketing and sales has also served us well in our own business and in assisting our clients in developing business models which suit their styles and goals,” Bonnie said.
“Everything we do, marketing wise, is directed back to our website,” she stressed. “The website is imperative. That’s where people get information, find out what’s going on, see what’s for sale, and find out how to contact us. We’ll be adding an online store very soon.”
Bonnie said they use a combination of newsletters, postcards, and electronic newsletters to attract and generate sales. She says the company uses the electronic newsletter service provider, Constant Contact, to maintain the more than 5,000 email addresses on their list.
“We enjoy seeing the success of others and believe strongly that a professional alpaca industry is comprised of many successful alpaca businesses working for common goals,” she stated. “Kansas Alpaca Company has been a richly rewarding endeavor for us. The alpacas are an intelligent and interesting livestock breed, easily and inexpensively maintained in comparison to other livestock, and I love showing them to people here on the farm, or wherever we take them.”
For more information, visit the website: http://www.kansasalpacacompany.com
|
