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| alpacas |
 Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2005 6:31 pm Post subject: I invested in alpacas online |
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| It was a minimum of $5,000 to invest in a group herd. The investment lasted 3 years and I made enough money to buy my own alpacas. Now I'm considering letting other people invest in a herd of alpacas in the same manner because the industry is still strong and the prices still high. People can't raise alpacas in the city but they can still take advantage of the livestock tax break and realize a profit that exceeds stocks at the present time. Just my experience. There are many ways to invest in our future especially if we keep an open mind! |
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| fladoozle84 |
| Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2005 1:12 pm Post subject: |
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Investing Sr. Associate
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| Why alpacas? What do people do with them??? |
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| alpacas |
| Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2005 1:16 pm Post subject: Alpacas |
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People breed them and sell the babies. Besides the high return for babies right now, there are also great tax benefits for investing in livestock. There are many farms, including ours, that allows people to own part interest or full interest in a female alpaca in a hands-off manner. This is for people who would like to invest but do not want to move onto a farm or spend their weekends cleaning barns or for people who want to test the waters in the alpaca business. Here is how the numbers generally break down: if you invest in a female alpaca you should be able to sell her babies (at 2 years and bred) for the same price you bought the momma for or more. So, if you pay $20,000 for a bred female you would then sell the babies for approximately $20,000 (males are less) each year starting at year 2. Alpacas live for 12 ? 15 years and have one baby per year until the age of 10 ? 12 years. Most farms will allow part interest as ? or ? shares as well which means you would receive the same share on the sale of babies minus costs.
Alpacas do not cost much to keep, $2 per day per alpaca which is about $60 per month which covers vet exams, food and care. Each year you or the farm will decide who to breed the female to. This can range anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000 depending on the sire. The first breeding is generally free when you first purchase an alpaca. After that, you can either choose a male from a provided list of studs, from the internet or you can simply let the farm take care of these decisions for you. Generally speaking, the higher quality, well known studs will bring a higher price on the baby. Marketing is another factor. This includes showing the animal, which the farm will do, and marketing the animal to other breeders. Again, generally, more marketing means more return. Depending on the quality of the baby and the judges response, the actual sale price can be anywhere from $14,000 to $40,000. Fleece is a huge issue in the alpaca world right now so we are breeding for superior fleece, bloodlines and health at our farm. You can also choose to keep the babies and grow your herd for more return.
Anyway, I don't want to bore everyone!  |
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| moneytree |
| Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2005 1:22 pm Post subject: |
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Investing Sr. Associate
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| I'm not bored. I've always wondered about Alpacas and I had no idea people actually invest in them "hands-off". How did you get started in this? |
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| alpacas |
| Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2005 1:39 pm Post subject: Different ways of investing... |
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You can do it hands off as I said, by contacting a farm and asking if they have any shares available on one of their animals. Some farms do this to raise awareness of the industry, some do it help with the investment costs of buying a farm and some do it because they like the 'community' feel. Some farms don't do it at all, preferring to keep the risks and the rewards to themselves. If you do contact a farm, make sure you get pictures and a medical history. Also ask about the fleece and bloodline quality as this will be determining factors for the sale price of the baby. You can start out with $5,000 or you can buy half interest in a very high-end girl for $20,000. Either way, you will see a return, but it depends on how much you are comfortable investing in livestock. You can also spread the amount out to a few different animals and thus own quarter shares which minimizes the risk of a female being out of production for some reason. Most females have no trouble with pregnancy and birth, still some people like to spread their money out just like they would with different stocks.
Another way to invest is to buy some land and own your own alpacas outright. This takes a lot of planning and money up front though. It also means that your free time is no longer free. For people who need to live in a large city to work, this isn't feasible. Some people do this, such as I, after they have invested in alpacas and made some money back. They get comfortable that the industry will be around for some time to come and want to live in the country.
You can also invest in the male alpacas that are hired out as studs, or herdsires. Herdsires range from $25,000 to $80,000 for HALF interest. They receive breeding fees of $1,000 to $5,000 per female. There is no gaurantee on how many people will contract your particular stud though and this avenue is highly dependent on marketing, showing and hype.
The thing to remember is that everyone in this industry is breeding for a better fleece. That equals: great crimp, shine, and density. That is what you look for in a female and then you look for even better in a male to produce a "level-up" baby. The idea being that the more advanced the fleece is the more people will want that particular animal so it can improve their farm's fleece. Really it's a race and everyone wants to be known for the best. It's similar to show dogs and cats only alpacas only have 1 baby a year, not a litter and you cannot import new, cheap animals from overseas. It's a closed market which will keep the prices good for at least several more years. If the prices start to drop in 8 to 10 years then you've already made your money back plus a profit and so you move on and invest in something else. You still get the agriculture tax benefits while you are involved as well which is great for people who don't have any write-offs! |
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| keokagal |
| Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2005 5:36 pm Post subject: |
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Investing Sr. Associate
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| Hey Alpacas, I was so surprised to see your post. For years I wanted Alpacas then found out how expensive they were. I'm so happy you were able to do something I could not. Good Luck. |
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| alpacas |
| Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2005 5:57 pm Post subject: Thanks K! |
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New Poster
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They have really been fun and like I said, you can start with a small investment and work up if you are still interested. Or you may be able to trade services with an alpaca farm near you... you never know unless you ask  |
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| moneytree |
| Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2005 6:55 am Post subject: |
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Investing Sr. Associate
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| Wow, thanks so much for the detailed explanation! I feel like I am getting a bird's eye view of a world I never even knew existed. I'm gonna talk to my hubby about this. It sounds like just looking into the investment could be fun as well as profitable. |
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| alpacas |
| Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2005 7:44 am Post subject: Let me know |
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| if you want more information. My email address is: jcsc31@comcast.net and I'd be happy to walk you through the process. |
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| andromedaslove |
| Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2005 12:25 pm Post subject: |
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Investing Associate
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| I also never knew that you could invest in Alpacas in a hands off approach. I used to breed quarter horses, and know all too well how hard it can be raising livestock, as you never know what can go wrong, however hands off sounds pretty interesting. |
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