Tour of state's alpaca farms will start in Hubbard

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Alpacas are members of the camel family.

HUBBARD — Ross Alpaca Ranch here has been selected as the starting point for the fourth annual Great Ohio Alpaca Tour.

Located at 1504 Collar Price Road, Ross Alpaca Ranch is home to more than 40 alpacas. As the official starting point, Ross Alpaca Ranch will not only provide a tour of its own farm, but offer tour maps to all the other farms on this year's tour.

Other area farms on the Great Ohio Alpaca Tour include Day Star Alpacas in North Jackson and Select Suri Alpacas in Salem. Pleasant Valley Ranch of Girard will be showing alpacas at Day Star Alpacas. These are just a few of the 27 alpaca farms featured on this year's Great Ohio Alpaca Tour.

The tour will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and from noon to 5 p.m. Oct. 15. Admission to all farms is free.

Purpose of tour

The tour is designed to create awareness of and promote interest in the U.S. alpaca industry, which started in 1984.

Alpacas are members of the camel family and represent an alternative to traditional livestock. They are environmentally friendly, low maintenance and a terrific opportunity for a profitable family business, alpaca owners say.

The animals are raised for their fleece, a fiber that is processed into garments and accessories such as sweaters, blankets, hats, shawls, gloves, even Teddy bears.

Because there are relatively few of these animals, however, they are in high demand, and the buying and selling of alpacas has made for a robust business for more than 20 years, alpaca owners say.

The Great Ohio Alpaca Tour will show alpaca farming from the small breeder's perspective. Visitors to the farms will see not only the beautiful animals, but also how simple and basic the requirements are for running an efficient alpaca farm.

Benefits

There are more than 700 alpaca farms in Ohio, and alpaca breeders support local small businesses by buying goods and services such as agricultural equipment and feed and supplies.

Many breeders have alpaca products available for sale, offering items not found in local retail stores.

Ohio is home to more than 6,500 registered alpacas, more than any other state. The large majority of these alpacas are on farms throughout Northeastern Ohio.

For more information, visit www.greatalpacatour.com, or contact Daniel J. Coulter, owner of Day Star Alpacas, North Jackson, at (330) 538-2654, home and farm; (330) 538-2714 (fax); or (330) 727-5334 (cell).

Sunday, October 8, 2006