As we celebrate our ten year anniversary here at the farm, we are taking a look back on some of the events which led us here. Our journey into the world of alpaca farming began in October of 2007 with little more than a dream, when after researching alpacas for a little over a year we decided that we wanted to enter into the business. We had read everything we could lay our hands on and visited several farms, falling in love with the idea of raising these lovely, gentle animals. The idea of raising livestock that produced a high quality end product without having to be slaughtered in order to harvest it appealed to us and was one of the main reasons we chose alpacas over other livestock.

We attended an alpaca auction as a "Learning experience" with no intention of purchasing animals. The auction was poorly advertised and as a result, there were more sellers than buyers resulting prices that were far below any we had seen. A friend offered to keep our animals at her farm until our pastures were ready, so next thing you know, we had purchased our first alpaca, named Outstanding Omen.

We knew of course, that you can't have just one alpaca, so we purchased a second female with cria at side. Holy cow, we were suddenly in the alpaca business! Trying to describe the feelings we had at this time is next to impossible. Scared, excited,nervous, full of questions are just a few thoughts that come to mind. I lay awake in bed at the hotel that night, my mind in a frenzy. So many questions! Finally at about two in the morning , I got up and started to write down my questions. I ended up with two full pages, front and back. We had made an appointment to visit the farm we had purchased Outstanding Omen from the next day. The owners, Bud and Gail Stewart of Rocky Run Alpacas were gracious and patiently answered all our questions.

As we returned home, work began on fencing in our initial pasture area. Within a week we had a pasture area fenced and a Run- in shelter delivered just in time for our alpaca's arrival. So much has happened since then! Through trial and error, attending seminars, always asking questions, and a whole lot of hard work, we have turned our farm into a successful alpaca business.

Our farm is now home to between 30-40 alpacas at any given time. We have an on site Alpaca Farm Store, regularly compete in the Alpaca show circuit, have become involved in agri-tourism hosting many groups here on our farm,mentor other alpaca farms, and currently serve as president on the Maryland Alpaca Breeders Association Board of Directors. We certainly have come a long ways from that auction and look forward to many more years in the business of raising alpacas!


Sincerely,
Phil & Vickie Liske
Outstanding Dreams Farm
Preston, Maryland