Alpacas in St. Andrews
Important new agricultural industry for Interlake roaming the Triple-S region
Posted 1 month ago
By Jim Mosher
RM of ST. ANDREWS — Ninety-nine miles north of the Manitoba-North Dakota border, the Froese family is busy raising alpacas.
Alpaca is a breed of animal known for its docile, friendly nature. It produces a lanoline-free fleece that can be carded then spun into yarn immediately after shearing.
The 99 North Farm is home to 120 alpacas, most of them from Australia. There’s a menagerie of other animals – mini-horses, goats, chickens and Icelandic horses.
Tannis Froese, her husband Cornie and daughters Carla Froese and Katie Lawrence share chores on this active farm.
Carla shares feeding and husbandry duties, while sister Katie spins alpaca fleece into yarn.
Tannis is official family spokesman. She definitely knows her alpacas. She’s intense and articulate as she leads a group of visitors Sunday.
In Tannis’s studied view of alpaca farming, the nascent industry is all about genetics. The Froeses have imported alpacas from Australia, where the animals have been developed to accentuate the best features. Tannis Froese says the growing Canadian and European industry can only benefit from the strong Australian genetics, including ultra-fine fleece.
“It’s frustrating at first,” Katie says as she works the pedals of a spinning wheel. “It’s easier now.” Katie also makes baby hats and scarves from the alpaca yarn.
There’s plenty of value-added opportunity, but the focus at 99 North is improving the breed, using the jump-start of Australian stock. “The quality is so high in Australia. It provides us another genetic kick-up,” Tannis said. “It saves us about 12 years of breeding. It makes sense to bring them here to influence the North America market.”
The Froeses export to Europe where the industry is still in its infancy.
Improving the genetics of her own large herd means sentimentality cannot be an issue. Animals who bring the herd down have to be culled. “The genetics have to be replenished,” she said, adding that producers have to be prepared to cull.
Tannis believes that the Interlake is an open market for new alpaca farmers. “It’s an industry that’s growing,” she said. “But we need more people. The fact is the more people that produce alpacas the better for all. It’s an industry that’s attracting international attention. It’s a money-maker for the Interlake.”
The international trade in alpacas is closely monitored in Canada. When receiving an Australian shipment at Vancouver, Tannis takes her quarantine trailer to the port. Inspectors seal the trailer for its journey back east to Manitoba. Once back at 99 North, a veterinarian approved by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is the only person allowed to break the seals on the pens inside the trailer. Once the go-ahead is given, the animals are put in a quarantine barn. They’ll languish in the barn for 90 days. Once again a vet or official from CFIA will have to give the imported stock an assessment.
The CFIA-approved importees then spend six months on the range or in outdoor pens before they can be certified for export. The next batch of export alpacas is headed for Ireland.
This reporter, ironically, found himself humming the Irish Rovers, green alligator song. “There were green alligators and long-neck geese; some hump-back camels and some chimpanzees.” So full of life is 99 North.
Quiet, charming creature
Alpaca are quiet creatures. It’s disarming. One expects livestock to be at least occasionally noisy and demanding. Not so alpaca. “They’re calm, serene — almost mesmerizing,” says Tannis. “They’re hypnotizing you with their calmness.”
The animals eye visitors from a distance. But it’s not long before they’re sticking their heads through the fences of their compounds, inviting affection and loving touches from the humans. Tannis says she loves the animal, more even than her cherished horses or the other animals that live on her farm.
The Froeses are divesting themselves of the other animals that roam their farm — because Tannis wants to throw the full energy of the farm into raising alpaca.
The goal of Humm Zinger Alpacas is to breed alpacas with great conformation, excellent fibre and, of course, friendly dispositions. The herd includes mostly Peruvian, but also Chilean and Bolivian lineages.
For more information about the Froeses’ alpaca operation, visit www.hummzingeralpacas.com.
