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NW I Issue 35 I 2013

For Bridgetown couple, Dennis and Evol Angelatos, alpaca wool produces such a diverse range of products that it has attracted a wide range of people to their farm gate, complementing the sales of their other agricultural products.

Tucked away in the hills a short distance from the heritage town of Bridgetown, Dennis and Evol have turned their weekend getaway into a bustling alpaca farm and olive grove that is open to the public four days a week.

Not quite the relaxed, ‘feet-up’ lifestyle they envisaged for their retirement, Levanda Grove owes its name to its Greek heritage, starting with the family name Angelatos. The alpacas are named from Greek mythology and levanda is the anglicised version of the Greek word for lavender.

Evol’s original idea was to grow lavender before realising it was more difficult than anticipated. Now Dennis and Evol would agree that meticulous planning is a sound investment in the future of any new venture.

Where it startedIn 1995 the 11ha property was purchased as a weekend getaway. It would be an escape from the stresses of teaching for Evol and the Fremantle port where Dennis operated as a pilot.

Neither had any experience with agriculture or country living and initially had no plans to do anything other than enjoy the rural experience.

However, a year later it was Dennis who recognised that the 11ha block lying idle was a wasted opportunity. When he suggested alpacas, Evol didn’t even know what they were.

“I thought he had lost his marbles,” she said. “But then when I saw them, so big-eyed and gorgeous, I knew Dennis was right.

“We needed to run some type of livestock on the property and for us alpacas seemed to be a good choice. We looked at angora goats first, but they would have needed

a lot more fencing. Alpacas don’t require a lot of extra work and have been relatively easy for us given that we have no farming background.

“We have 50 alpacas and 700 olive trees in two groves now. If that had been planned or even suggested it probably wouldn’t have happened simply because it was such a huge change. We never expected to be running a full-scale olive grove and alpaca flock. We simply started small and it evolved from there.”

How they did itDennis and Evol joined the Australian Alpaca Association (AAA) and began learning about the animals, husbandry and industry. They visited breeders to

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Small producer case study: Levanda Grove alpacas and olives

noteworthySmall landholder series

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NW I Issue 35 I 2013

Alpaca fleece can be used for a number of products.

“Alpacas graze very happily keeping pasture growth down, cleaning up under the trees and of course adding fertilizer. They don’t damage the trees or eat the olives.”

Levanda Grove also offers some on-farm stud services.

Promoting and selling the product

With the Oli-Paca shed open Friday to Monday the Angelatos’ life is busy, although Evol says there is always room for more visitors.

“We never know when we’ll be busy and when we won’t, which makes it difficult to plan some of the bigger routine jobs,” she said.

Levanda alpacas are regulars at the Albany Agricultural Show and the Winter Colourbration Alpaca Show where the animals are judged in colour classes.

Alpacas come in 12 recognised colours ranging from white through fawns, browns, greys, roans, fancy multi-colours and black. For those interested in the serious end of showing, participation in the Whiteman Park and Perth Royal Shows are ideal.

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observe the different management techniques and fleece types.

Alpaca fleece is similar to sheep fleece, but it’s different structure gives it softer handling qualities.

Their weekend trips eventually led them to a breeder where the surroundings and atmosphere appealed to them. “I think it was the surroundings we fell in love with. We bought two pregnant females, but because we were still in the learning phase and had not yet set up the property, we left them to be agisted,” Evol said.

Meanwhile Evol was spending weekends in Bridgetown to see if she could handle living in the country alone. Eighteen months later Evol was offered a full-time teaching job in Manjimup, an easy drive from Bridgetown and Evol and four alpacas became permanent Bridgetown residents.

For anyone without experience of country life, leaving the city behind can be a daunting prospect.

“I was still wondering if I would miss the social life with friends, teaching colleagues and all the amenities and entertainment available in Perth,” Evol said.

Discovering the many opportunities for social interaction in Bridgetown and having full-time employment made settling in much easier.

Buildings and facilitiesGradually laneways, yards and shelters for the alpacas were constructed. While laneways are essential, according to Evol a fenced-off corner in a paddock where the alpacas are fed will make-do as a yard and a catching pen to start with.

Over the next few years as the flock grew, the sheds, yards and laneways were extended and a new house and later the Oli-Paca ‘wayside stall’ and olive processing shed were added.

DiversificationThe olive grove was established as a means of diversifying the property’s agricultural base. The oil, dukka and soaps sit easily alongside the alpaca fleeces, garments and yarns in the Oli-Paca shed. The olives produce 10-12 tonnes of fruit annually.

Olives are selectively picked during winter depending on variety and ripeness and processed the same night.

Four nights a week for three months Dennis presses the fruit within hours of picking to retain the oil’s freshness and quality.

He also contract presses for nearby growers. Then through August and September, Dennis prunes the trees as necessary.

Levanda Grove oils, Blackwood and Tuscan blends, are sold from the farm, independent supermarkets and Fresh Provisions in Perth. Several restaurants also buy them in bulk. Evol said the olives and alpacas complement each other.

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Evol and Dennis also enjoy the atmosphere of field days such as Balingup Small Farm Field Day, Dardanup Bull and Barrel and others.

“It’s an opportunity to talk to people about alpacas and to promote the benefits of an alpaca flock on small acreages.”

Evol said their market research is a mix of trial and error and listening carefully to customer suggestions. They also have an online presence for marketing and promotion.

Fleeces, harvesting and marketingAs with other specialty fibres, the criteria for alpaca fleece excellence is a low fibre diametre, absence of contamination and very low levels of coarse fibres.

It must also be soft to handle so it is suitable for the luxury garment market.

Traditionally, the fleece is similar in structure to wool, but without the lanolin. It is either used by the growers themselves or sold as raw fleece, carded fleece or yarn for handcrafts.

If a grower has sufficient quantities it can be sold to Australian Alpaca Fleece Limited (AAFL) in Melbourne where it is classed before growers receive fleece reports and payment.

This fleece is sent to Peru for processing before being returned as commercial yarn for sale or manufacturing. There are also a number of smaller mini-mills where alpaca fleeces can be processed.

Premium alpaca fleeceFormed in 2010, WA Premium Alpaca is a small group of growers focused on fleece improvement

through identification and selection for quality criteria such as fineness and density, evenness of fleece across the animal and soft handling.

They are also striving to improve standards of preparation, shearing and presentation. Paul Vallely, from Australian Alpaca Fibre Testing (AAFT), said Premium Alpaca is not an association requiring payment of fees and nor is it a system that takes any of the decision-making away from breeders.

“It is simply a set of breeding and marketing tools that breeders can select from in order to enhance the fleece aspect of their farming activities,” he said.

Located in Corrigin, the group holds work days to prepare, sort and class the raw fleeces for sale. Low micron, white or light fawn fleeces fetch the highest prices.

Each fleece has three samples taken, including the shoulder, mid-side and pin bone (hip) for micron testing.

The group uses AAFT and Optical Fibre Diameter Analyser (OFDA) for fleece assessment.

“The OFDA technology used by AAFT is one of the most popular fibre measurement systems used throughout the world and was originally developed in Western Australia,” Paul said.

Ultra-fine white fleece sold under the Ultra Fine Bale Scheme is less than 18 micron and has received prices of around $60/kg.

This sought after fleece will usually come from younger animals. The average adult fleece will range from 2-3kg, while young alpacas first shearing fleeces will be considerably lighter and have the finest micron.

This year Levanda had three fleeces included in the ultra-fine bale. The Levanda flock is mostly coloured and Evol keeps these fleeces for her own use. The fleece is hand washed before

Month Action

March

Females are mated. Alpacas are induced ovulators and they will not come into season until introduced to the male. Gestation is 11.5 months or longer.

April - MayPlan to have crias born before winter to avoid cold weather. Females re-mated three to four weeks later.

June Vaccination and ear tagging and halter training of crias begins.

October - NovemberShear before weeds and seeds contaminate fleece. Crias (five to six months old) are weaned.

Table 1 Workload throughout the year.

For more informationLevanda Grove – levandagrove.com.au

Australian Aalpaca Association - alpaca.asn.au

Australian Alpaca Fibre Testing (AAFT) - aaft.com.au

Noteworthy 13 - Livestock ownership requirements for small landholders

Noteworthy 22 - Basics of alpaca keeping

Contact detailsSmall Landholder Information Service (SLIS) agric.wa.gov.au/small_landholder +61 (0) 8 9733 7777 or +61 (0) 8 9780 6100

Important disclaimer The Chief Executive Officer of the Department of Agriculture and Food and the State of Western Australia accept no liability whatsoever by reason of negligence or otherwise arising from the use or release of this information or any part of it.

© Western Australian Agriculture Authority 2014

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Supporting your success

spinning, while high value white fleeces are sold.

Alpaca fleece is also being auctioned through Fremantle wool trader, Primaries WA, when commercially acceptable volumes are available.

There are also new marketing strategies being formed for alpaca fibre, hides and viande (alpaca meat). Drenching is only occasionally necessary because the alpaca habit is to use manure piles thereby preventing pasture contamination.

Any new stock arriving is routinely drenched and vaccinated before being introduced to the flock, including any stock entering the property for use of farm stud services.

Annual income versus costsAlpaca feed costs depend on the season and amount of paddock feed available. Levanda Grove hand feeds all year for management purposes as well as nutrition.

“Our alpacas pay for themselves with income from craft, fleece and animal sales and stud and husbandry services. I’d describe it as supplementing our superannuation rather than a living,” Evol said.

Evol described the workload as heavy and constant. Animal prices have dropped from their previous highs, but demand for alpacas is higher (Table 1).

Most established breeders trade breeding males amongst themselves rather than selling. It is often easier for new breeders, or those with small flocks, to bring their females to a stud for mating instead of owning a male.

Alpacas: what you should knowAlpacas are naturally hardy animals requiring minimal interference, but they are not a backyard pet. Blocks close to town need to be securely fenced against dogs.

Before buying:

• Check your local government authority regulations before buying animals

• Obtain a Property Identification Code (PIC) from Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia (DAFWA)

• Obtain a registered Stock Brand from DAFWA

• Assess the amount and quality of fleece likely to be produced and decide on a market strategy. Small amounts will find an outlet in handicrafts, while commercial quantities will need to be sold through a broker.

Alpacas must be branded by six months of age or before leaving the property of birth.

They may be earmarked and the brand may be applied as a tattoo in the ear or as an ear tag imprinted with the registered brand.

Stud animals may be tattooed in the ear with the registered breed society mark.

Shearers may be hard to find and if you have a small flock it may be easier and cheaper to transport the animals to a central point for shearing, vaccinating, drenching and toe clipping.

Shearing alpacas is a specialised task and very few working sheep shearers are prepared to do it.