Milagro Moon Ranch

Owners: Jim and Cynthia Daly•569 Horton Rd., Edgewood, NM 87015•505-286-1335

www.milagromoonranch.com•Email Us

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Welcome to our farm!

We're glad that you found us on Openherd. Please take a look at our sales lists and enjoy learning more about our farm. We welcome your enquiries and questions!

Tax breaks? Huggable investment? Fastest growing livestock industry? These are reasons you might choose to get into alpacas. For us there were a number of other reasons of equal or greater importance.
• We were looking for a farm animal that we could handle and is easily managed. Alpacas are relatively small and docile for livestock, and the two of us working together can take care of all the routine care our animals require – nail trimming, shots and the like. They create communal “poop piles” that make cleanup quick and easy. They don’t smell, rarely spit or kick, and are not aggressive. And birthing and breeding are generally uneventful (though it is essential to be prepared when it comes to birthing). Most importantly, we harvest a resource from our animals each spring without having to “harvest” the animal in the process.
• We wanted an animal that would be easy on the land. The East Mountain area of north-central New Mexico is predominantly a high desert grassland receiving less than 15 inches of precipitation per year. Our property is located at 6,800’, and in the seven years we have been here, we have gone 12 months with less than an inch of total precipitation to receiving more than 4 inches of rain in less than 3 hours. In other words, the weather is unpredictable, so water and the grass it nourishes are precious. Alpacas have pads, not hooves, so they do not compact the soil like horses and cows, and they do not snip the grass down to the roots or pull up the roots as they graze.
• Relatively high in nitrogen but low in undigested vegetable matter, alpaca poop can be directly applied to most plants without burning. We mulch all of our trees and shrubs with the poop and waste hay gathered during daily clean up. Composted with grass clippings and leaves, the manure and hay quickly turn into a nutrient-rich soil that we use to enrich the clay soil of our ranch. Each fall, our vegetable garden is piled high with alpaca mulch, gradually restoring through the winter valuable nutrients.
• And, of course, there is the FLEECE! First and foremost, the alpaca is a fiber animal. Coming in 16 different natural colors, and producing some of the finest fleece available, the alpaca is an animal of opportunity for the fiber artist. It is wonderful to behold a year’s worth of growth slowly falling away from the animal as it is sheared in the spring. Unbelievably soft and practically ready for use just as it is right off the animal, the raw fleece and roving are sublime for felting, spinning and processing into all sorts of products. Alpaca fiber can also be successfully mixed with other fibers, including sheep wool, mohair or silk. We have our prime fleece processed into roving each year.

25% down with interest-free payments up to two years, but we are happy to work with clients in order to make special arrangements that will work to everyone's benefit.