Our Ranch

It all started with a newspaper article.

In 1992, we were putting in seven days, 60+ hours per week, with long commutes in his and hers veterinary practices. With two young children involved in various school activities and in multiple sports, we were more than ready to switch gears and to pursue another livelihood that would still enable us to utilize our animal knowledge but allow us more flexible time to spend with our family. An article in the local newspaper about the first Alpacafest in our area sent us on our way into discovering the world of alpacas. Three weeks later, we purchased our starter herd of three females.

Fifteen years later, our herd of huacayas maintains at somewhere between 80 and 100. Our children, now grown and veterans in their knowledge of alpacas and on the show circuit, pursue their own professions, but also have their own small alpaca ranch, Alpacas on the Hill. We still maintain a limited veterinary practice devoted exclusively to alpacas, but spend the majority of our time fine-tuning our breeding program.

Compared to the 180 breeders that existed in this country when we first began, the alpaca industry today has grown tremendously, is highly competitive and of amazingly high quality. A piece of advice that we give to new breeders is to discover their own niche, whether it center on color, breed type, etc. We found our niche in 1994 when two great things occurred. We were fortunate in acquiring partial ownership in Peruvian Hemingway and in Peruvian Accoyo Victor. Hemingway had already begun making his reputation in his finely fleeced offspring. Light fawn Accoyo Victor was the youngest Accoyo male in the 1994 importation and the only male in that shipment to achieve the highest fleece rating of 1++++ by veteran camelid breeder and importers’ veterinarian, Dr. Jim Vickers. Victor's life is a story onto itself, is one of stoicism and courage, and we were truly blessed to have him in our breeding program for ten years. Combining the fineness of Hemingway along with the density and character of the Accoyo to create the Hemiaccoyo has been the foundation of our breeding stock, and we now own the highest number of Hemiaccoyos in the world. They have and will continue to make their mark in the alpaca world. Please stop by and visit our annual display of over twenty Hemiaccoyo fleeces at each AOBA National Conference.

We welcome all visitors to our ranch, and always are more than happy to help out with any veterinary advice to breeders throughout the country, in person, by phone or email.

Timberland Alpacas Ranch Display AOBA

Valedar's Profile

Kashmir and Mojo