I’ve been thinking of those adorable, cuddly looking alpacas lately so it was great to see this enticing headline: “N.C. Woman Quits Banking to Raise Alpacas.” Raise alpacas indeed. Farmgirl Erin McCarthy’s Belleauwood Farm is one of the largest alpaca operations in the country. While many farms have an average of 12 alpacas at any given time, this one-time Bank of America VP has the largest herd in the southeast with 230 of the Peruvian creatures. The Salisbury Post story notes that the largest alpaca herd of 2,000 is in Washington State, but that most farmers – many of them couples – manage herds of up to 40-50.
The miniature llama-like alpacas are raised for their fleece that is currently a small niche textile business. In the article, Erin says she expects there to be an increase in alpaca farming – enough to support a commercial processing facility. Meanwhile, Erin is working with the North Carolina State University College of Textiles to develop such a commercial processing business model.
[Image is of Cara Blanca, one of the alpacas Erin has for sale…list price? $20,000.]
Virtual Farmgirl 
i want one.
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Welcome to the site Caramia. I’m thinking alpacas would be a good fit for you…but then there’s the problem of where you would put one. I’m thinking it might be tough enough in your urban neighborhood to get away with backyard chickens, let alone a fuzzy, fleecy alpaca.
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i want one.
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Welcome to the site Caramia. I’m thinking alpacas would be a good fit for you…but then there’s the problem of where you would put one. I’m thinking it might be tough enough in your urban neighborhood to get away with backyard chickens, let alone a fuzzy, fleecy alpaca.
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