Llama and Alpaca Farming

The ATTRA Project is operated by the National Center for Appropriate Technology, under a grant from the USDA’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service. www. attra. ncat. org Llamas or alpacas can be a good addition to the farm or ranch—an alternative livestock... More

The ATTRA Project is operated by the National Center for Appropriate Technology, under a grant from the USDA’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service. www. attra. ncat. org Llamas or alpacas can be a good addition to the farm or ranch—an alternative livestock enterprise that fits well into a diversified farming operation. Marginal pastureland, not prime farmland, is suitable for raising llamas and alpacas with some supplemental feeding. There are currently over 200,000 llamas and over 20,000 alpacas in North America (1, 2). There are four types of lama (the genus name is spelled with one l ). They are the llama, the alpaca, the guanaco, and the vicuna. All are members of the Camelidae family. Modified ruminants with a three-compartment stomach, they have cloven hooves and chew a cud like sheep and cattle. The llama and alpaca have been domesticated in South America for many centuries. The llama, the largest of the types, is used as a beast of burden, as a fiber source, and as a m Less