ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Did you know that alpacas are known to be some of the greenest animals out there? From their soft hooves to their valuable fleece, one local farm is taking advantage of all the animal has to offer.
For the past 18 years, the EastWest Alpaca Ranch in Victor has been utilizing alpacas to help clean up the brush growing on their farm since they first started, and eventually, the animal grew on them; not just because of their cute and friendly nature, but also because of how friendly they are to the environment.
At first, the decision to have alpacas join this family-owned farm was a tough sell, but eventually, both owners Kristi and Bryant Jung caught the bug and have been hooked ever since.
“I spent the summer cleaning up all the brush and the next spring it comes back even faster so I said well we got to get some animal to help us and keep the fields clean, so we talked about cows and goats,” Bryant says. We have a “green acre’s” story, but we ended up with alpacas and we love it,” says Kristi.
These animals are sensitive to their environment in every way starting with the land. Alpacas have soft, padded feet as opposed to other livestock that doesn’t tear up the land and disturb the soil, preventing any weeds from growing.
“They’re very friendly to the grass and the land because they don’t have a hard hoof like horses do. It doesn’t tear up the land,” says Kristi.
The way alpacas cut the grass with their bottom teeth is less harsh and encourages plant growth. So, not only are they soft on the land and great at keeping the area clean, but their high-quality fleece is something everyone can wear.
“It’s like a cashmere, a new cashmere. A lot of people are allergic to wool itself because it has lanolin, or sometimes people are allergic to the chemicals they put in in the milling process to take out the lanolin, however, these guys are hypoallergenic,” says Krisit.
From farming to fashion, Kristi says it’s hard not to appreciate these lovable creatures.
“They’re so gorgeous you get hooked on the alpacas; how can you not like them?”
The owners say even the fertilizer they produce is rich in minerals and low in nitrogen so they can just put it right in the garden without composting it, resulting in products that grow twice as big. With the alpacas being such a low-maintenance animal, it’s becoming a popular farming business that anyone can do.