Return on Investment
One question people often ask, How do we make money from this investmet, here are a few to consider:
- Selling Alpacas to others
- This is the primay focal point of most alpaca owners and breeders in this industry today. Eventually there will be a shift to where the fiber and end products will be the focal point, but this shift will be highly dependent on the number of animals in the US contributing to the fiber production.
- Sale of Breedings to your Herdsires
- Many farms do not own herdsire males, thus they will leverage the herdsires of other farms. The fees for these breedings will vary across the country and by the quality of the herdsire and his progeny.
- Sale of Fiber and/or End products
- There is tremendous growth in the fiber side of the Alpaca business as the US consumer begins to understand and appreciate the value the alpaca fiber has to offer. There are growing markets for Raw Fiber, Yarn and one of a kind hand made garments. There is also a growing market for mass produced items like socks, scarves and blankets.
- Sale of services to others
- There are many services that alpaca breeders and owners need. Many are leveraging these needs to generate income (e.g. livestock transportation, small business accounting, website development, photography, shearing, fence building, creative writing, graphic design
- Landscape mulch
- The byproduct of the alpaca is a great fertalizer and it does not have the odor of other natural fertalizer products. There is always fiber from shearing that can not be used in product production. These two products are rapidly growing as a great mulch concept for landscapers and home owners.
Monday, June 13, 2011