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BelleauWood
Farms Alpacas |
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This Issue: |
April
2003, Charlotte NC |
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We
have had a very successful first quarter
in 2003. Many thanks to our 2003 first
quarter customers and new partners -
Blaine, Cindy, Julia, & LB Mangum ~
Suwannee River Alpacas, Florida
Jason & Crystal Chase, North
Carolina
Joyce Maley ~ Hurricane Alpacas, South
Carolina
Iowa VanHamme, North Carolina
Mary & Wayne England ~ Windy Hill
Alpacas, Tennessee
Tripp & Ty Forstner ~ TnT Farms,
Ohio
As a result of our success, we have been
growing. We have many girls that are
delivering in May, so keep an eye on our
price list ~ it will be changing as
crias are born and the girls are rebred.
To date in 2003, we are pleased to have
purchased alpacas from
Magical Farms Inc., Ohio
Alpacas de la Patagonia, Washington
Apple Orchard Alpacas, Wisconsin
Alpaca Knights, Kentucky
Our newest addition, American Reggrae
(pictured), is our first second
generation alpaca! We bred both his
mother, Theodora, and him. Alpaca
breeding sure is a long term project :o)
When people ask me what is the hardest
part of alpaca farming, I have to say
Patience, Patience, Patience!
We now have our 2003 Cria Calendar
posted. We already have four great
crias. We are expecting crias from
Accoyo Don Juan, Accoyo Mr. President,
Accoyo Plantel, Barringer, Dakotia,
Danko, Donovan, Logan, Millennium, Mr
Know it All, Penumbra, Creekwater's
Romanoff, Shakelton, Shaquille, Silver
Bullet, Silvino, and many more! Take a
look to see what the rest of the year
might bring!
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Lots
has been going on with our family this
Spring.
Steve was called up by the NC National
Guard and is now a medic in the Active
Duty Air Force Reserves in Qatar. He
deployed at 1:55 AM March 23. His best
guess right now is that he will be there
for 6 months. It is amazing how
technology has changed our world. In
1991, when he was in the Gulf War, I
didn't hear from him for an entire
month. This time, he was able to call
and e-mail en route and had an e-mail
account set up immediately upon arriving
in country. Steve had been serving one
weekend a month and running the daily
farm operations, so needless to say,
Megan and I are scrambling!
Megan is busy finishing up her Sophomore
year in high school. Megan's big news of
the Spring has been starting her own
herd - Narnia Farms Alpacas. For her
many years of hard work, in January we
gave her two adult females and one
weanling male. She has already made her
first sale and has her fist cria due any
day now - she is hoping for a gray Danko
female! She can manage her herd in any
way she likes, but we expect her to plan
well to be able to pay for her own
education from this investment. She will
also be responsible for building her own
website and managing her own marketing
and sales program. This Summer, she is
launching her new service Alpaca Nanny
and will be available for alpaca
sitting. Megan has cared for alpacas for
over 6 years and is very good at all
aspects of alpaca care. Contact us if
you are interested in using her
services.
I recently accepted the position of
Chairperson of the AOBA Marketing
Committee. In addition to rigorous
planning for the Summer Nationals, I
have just completed designing the AOBA
Annual Survey that will be administered
to members in the coming weeks. Please
take the time to complete the survey if
you receive it. I am also running for
AOBA Board of Directors. Hopefully, many
of you have received your ballots. If
you are an AOBA member and have not yet
voted, please do so. If you would like
more information on my positions on
issues or my resume, please see my
biography. There are 4 to 5 of 9 seats
open on the AOBA BOD. Other candidates
that I support include - Jerry Forstner,
Jennifer Orr, Greg Mecklem, and Bill
Coleman. As a member of the AFCNA Board,
I can also tell you that we worked hard
on the annual report and planning for
the coming year. AFCNA had a very
successful year and is in the process of
evolving into a big business. As many of
you are aware, growing any business is
hard work and takes care, patience,
love, and feeding. I am a firm believer
that American alpaca breeders should
invest the time and money to
cooperatively develop a strong business
model and commercial market through
AFCNA.
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