| |
|
|
| |
AlpacaNation Q&A with Hagen Heights Alpaca Farm
Todd Gruenhagen & Theresa Reyes-Stassel ( AOBA apprentice judge)
~
23 Spring Rock Rd, New Windsor, NY 12553
~
845-800-2616
AlpacaNation: Describe your first alpaca purchase... would you do anything differently today?
Hagen Heights Alpaca Farm: Our first alpacas were found right here on AlpacaNation! We were looking for a pacakage of 2 or 3 females, typed in a search for our state, and found one entitled "Don't be Scared"- -which of course really described our feelings to a "t". We were even hesitant to discuss our venture with family members initially, most of whom reacted as if we were out of our minds to do this crazy thing, or so they first thought...
Over time they came around to undertanding how much this has given us both, as "empty-nesters", in return for our hard work to establish our herd.
The person listing the package we bought has turned out to be a friend over time. The package we purchased was a great value, and the alpacas in the pacakge were ideal for us to grow with and learn from!
AlpacaNation: Do you have a favorite Alpaca? Why is it your favorite?
Hagen Heights Alpaca Farm: I would defintely say our "Old Man" ABC Balthasar! He compeltely surprised us by winning in the ring when pitted against much younger herdsires when we began promoting him at shows when he was already 7 years old! He ribboned each time he competed and still maintains his good looks and oh so gentle temperment. He is our "go to" guy for drive by breedings and breedings in general, often impregnating on the first try. He never starts a fight with the much younger and feistier males, yet he never back down when challenged. He is a laid back male who consistantly passes along his fine fiber qualites and heavy bone.
AlpacaNation: Any embarrassing moments you would like to share?
Hagen Heights Alpaca Farm: When we decided to take our newly acquired herdsire "Balthasar" to a "little" show out of town where we thought we could show without much fanfare, only to speak to the breeder who sold us Balthasar and have him tell us, with surprise in his voice, that the "North American Show" was one of the premiere shows in the country. Imagine our surprise when we realized we were taking a 7 year old herdsire to one of the hardest shows to ribbon in in the country! I was shocked when he placed well and continued to place at other top shows---little did we know we had found a genetic gem of a male, who stood the test of time when pitted agaisnt some pretty hard competition. That is why he is our go-to guy---he kept us from looking like fools to other more experienced breeders. Thank goodness the breeder we bought him from had such high standards for herdsires and such honesty in marketing him as a herdsire when he sold him to us!!!! We will be eternally grateful for that!
AlpacaNation: What is the key to your financial success in this industry?
Hagen Heights Alpaca Farm: I would have to say realizing quality genetically is key and making alpacas affordable to the common farmer while giving them the best possible genetics to enable them to succeed. A neighboring farmer asked me in the beginning if I was afraid of competition ( meaning them - with bigger pockets than we seemed to have) to which I answered "If you are successful, then you will have money to spend at other farms!" - We all rely on each other's success to be successful.
Building bridges rather than walls is always the best policy..... in any business venture. My father( now deceased) always said - "Don't burn your bridges behind you!" That is the key to good customer service, along with the "do unto others" philosophy.
AlpacaNation: What advice would you give to those just getting started in the industry?
Hagen Heights Alpaca Farm: It all begins with a plan, and the plan takes time and evolves as your goals may change. For a business to be successful I beleive you must have a passion for it, a true love for alpacas.
Remaining flexible as new developments and opportunites reveal themselves is critical to any business plan. By all means write down your projections, hire the correct professionals to help set up your business, an accountant, lawyer, and availabe veterinarian servies are criticil to your success.
Attend as many free and paid seminars as possible to familiarize yourself with industry terminology. Think of alpaca ownership as a long term investment, such as stocks or mutual funds. Most peoeple do not expect to say triple or double their investments in such instruments on a yearly basis, but look for gradual gains in their portfolios.
As with any enterprise, marketing your product and education, in this case alpacas, is perhaps the most time consuming and expensive portion of any busines
AlpacaNation: How long have you been in the alpaca business?
Hagen Heights Alpaca Farm: Todd an I began this venture in the fall of 2003, and though barely three years since it's inception the idea of a way to raise some sort of livestock had been long on both of our minds. I began wanting to raise some sort of animals since I was a child, strongly influenced by the reading with a passion the "All Creatures Great and Small" series, along with the entire "Black Beauty" series, "Lassie" series, etc. I worked every chance I could get at various horse racing farms and breeding farms and show dog kennels over the years, and became known for my special love of animals.
The idea of alpacas was rooted in my desire to raise animals of my indigenous latin american heritage. I had researched and read on the subjects relating to my cultural heritage throughout most of my lifetime, on both a collegiate level and a personal level, for the simple love of the heritage of my ancestors and my birthright. Alpacas were a perfect spiritual fit for our lifestyle.
AlpacaNation: How do you see your farm and alpaca business growing over the next 5 to 10 years?
Hagen Heights Alpaca Farm: We see ourselves as growing in terms of breeders, refining the good qualities our initial herd contains, improving when needed with careful selection of breeding stock. We do not intend to ever have a large herd by any means, but rather wish to focus on quality over quantity. Keeping our herd small will anable us to properly train, handle, and focus on each animals individual needs in terms of nurtrition, socialization, and health.
Our next stage is the further development of our fiber resources. We purchased an electic spinning wheel from Australia early on and set up an indoor fiber processing room in one of our barns, complete with storage for fleeces, a sorting table built and designed by Todd, shearing table and plenty of lighting. As we grow and develop we hope to begin felting and processing our own fiber here on-site. Todd's previous experience and current employment on a corporate level in the textile industry as well as engineering has helped set up a great farm that "wor
AlpacaNation: What is your greatest achievement or favorite memory since you started raising alpacas?
Hagen Heights Alpaca Farm: My greatest acheivment thus far has been being accepted into the Judge Apprentice programm in spring of 07. I look forward to learning more about properly evaluating alpacas through service while apprenticing and participating in the upcoming AOBA judging clinics.
AlpacaNation: What has been the most helpful advice you have received from your veterinarian?
Hagen Heights Alpaca Farm: It would have to be to set up quarrentine facilities for incoming alpacas.
AlpacaNation: What do you tell prospective buyers who look at the small profit the alpaca fiber produces compared to the daunting prices of alpacas?
Hagen Heights Alpaca Farm: I let them know that the closer you can bring the fiber to the final end product. the greater your profit will be. I am swamped with the demand for many of my hand crocheted items, and processed yarns sell easily. I am in the process of teaching myslef to needle felt as well, and have set up my weaving loom to begin that adventure. It helps tremendously if one invests in processing and producing alpaca products which are in high demand. I take the cottage industry approach to marketing our handmade items at local farmer's markets and have had alpaca/silk blends spun of our white fiber. Revisitng hand production of fine alpaca products made from our herds fleeces helps offset the cost of processing and enables us to gain a profit from our fiber. Fine, dense, and most importantly uniform fiber will always be in demand among handspinners and crafter's.
AlpacaNation: If you could change one aspect of the Alpaca industry what would it be? Why?
Hagen Heights Alpaca Farm: I fully support the adoption of a breed standard and continual regulation and development of the AOBA show rules, in particular the enforcement of a breed standard when adopted. In fact last July I wrote an article on the topic entitled " Form Follows Function Plus Time - Guidelines for a Breed Standard - which is published online in www.alpacanewstoday's archives. Active participation in the show industry is essential, I feel, so as to be able to breed and develop the highest quality alpacas for our breeding program. Breeders who do not get the opportunity to compare their alpacas to others in such a way will never know, I believe , the ideal and resulting quality being rapidly developed in term of fiber and conformational improvement through selective breeding practiced by others throughout the country.
AlpacaNation: What sets your farm and herd apart from others in the industry?
Hagen Heights Alpaca Farm: We "took the plunge" in a big way right from the start! Our farm grew within one year to include 20 alpacas, both fully owned and also agisted. Careful financial planning and time allocation made this possible. We decided early on that we wanted to be a full service facility, with our own herdsires brought in from around the country to enable us to breed genetically diverse stock rather than relying on local and sometimes over utilized lineages for our herd.
In addition we decided that our combined talents for entrepenurial enterprise would enable us to effectivedly compete fully in terms of service and support. Being able to devote full time to to the business and the care of our alpacas helped bring us up to speed learning about the care of our herd in a fairly short period of time.
We also jumped right into the show curcuit with four major shows the first year, bringing home the ribbons for our herdsires and learning in the process about the proper presentation at shows
AlpacaNation: How did you decide on your farm name? Is there a special meaning behind the name?
Hagen Heights Alpaca Farm: We live high atop the Shawangunk Mountain Ridge near Ellenville, Ny. The Moutnan we live on has a veiw that on a clear day spans nearly 5 states, with large Ice Cave formations that contain remnants of glacial ice eneveloped it these rocky cliffs. It is part of the Sam's Point Wildlife Perserve, which contains numerous endangered species and is in fact part of the State Parks System and Nature Consevancy. This explains the Heights portion fo the farm name aptly, we feel.
As for the Hagen part, it is a shortened version of our last name- Gruenhagen, but after years of trying to get take-out food by telephone or make dinner reservations under the name, which incidently is phonetic, and having people struggle with the pronuonciation, the shortened version seems to work better for people to pronounce ....
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
