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A DREAM REALIZED by Corry Pratt Robin knew she would be an alpaca farmer from the time she was a very young girl. Making family trips to various Maine fairs where they were featured, she only had to see them once to fall in love and the dream began. I, on the other hand, discovered the wonderful creatures much later in life, with Robin’s help, at the Common Ground Fair. They absolutely intrigued me. Robin is a planner and a strategist. She always has a running "to do" list. When I first met her, she had a poster on her office wall outlining her "Goals of a Lifetime." Owning alpacas was on that list. But how could she do it? She was busy in corporate America management and human resources with a fortune 500 company. How would she become a farmer? Well, being who she is, she made a list of things that would need to be accomplished to make it happen. She would need to learn as much as possible about all aspects of the alpaca business. Over the next couple of years she would attend seminars, classes, travel to other farms, call and e-mail other farmers, subscribe to periodicals, and familiarize herself with the industry. Then, after a 21 year career with the same company, she took early retirement to make her dream happen.  In 2004 she enlisted the help of friends and family and with a core team of six women and one man, volunteering weekends for a summer and fall, a beautiful barn was built and pastures were plowed. I was one of those volunteers. I did roofing, siding, paneling…all things I had no idea how to do only a year earlier. Seeing me with a nail gun is similar to seeing a toddler driving a car. My background is in human resources and communications. But with direction, I learned the fine art of construction. Robin and I met 10 years earlier and have been best friends ever since. Her dream became my dream, too. I sold my house in the city and moved to the country. All we could talk about was alpacas. (Just ask our families). Buying the animals was the next step to take. But when? Are we ready? How will we know? All very good questions - with not such good answers. To gain more "hands-on" experience, we rendered our services to a farm just a few miles from us. Frank and Geri from Lakeside Alpaca Farm graciously took us in. We did the chores when they were away or needed help. They taught us all about the animals, the procedures, protocol, giving shots, birthing, illnesses, you name it. With their guidance and their trust with us handling their animals, we built the confidence we hadn’t had to that point. But all the while, we had those sticky questions...When do we make the big plunge and buy alpacas? Do we know enough? Will we be good farmers - we’re human resources people! Then, we were home one evening looking at farm web designs on-line. There on the LAF site were "our" animals FOR SALE! We worked there and didn’t even know they were selling animals. There was Salsa and Splenda whom we had fed, watered, petted and talked to for months. We had to call Frank and Geri. It was too late in the evening. We’d have to wait until morning. We would be too excited to sleep! We called first thing the next morning. They were amused that we didn’t know about the animals for sale. They were happy to meet with us and came over later that same day to discuss the details. Salsa, Splenda and Hamilton became our starter herd. Sometimes you can’t plan the timing – it just sneaks up on you. Within a few days we owned alpacas. We delivered the first cria on our farm two months later - an 18 ½ pound boy, Gabriel. Our goal is to remain a relatively small farm for the time being. We have a complete farm shop and on-line store, we now have six alpacas with two more due in the fall and we are boarding two others. We’re pleased to have our families – grandparents, parents and children - involved in the farm. Our mission is to focus on quality breeding with a particular focus on gentle disposition. We are located adjacent to the MOFGA property in Unity. We love the land and join them in their desire to preserve a natural way of living. Our farm promotes visits from area schools, senior facilities, family organizations, civic groups, and anyone with a curiosity for alpacas. With both of our backgrounds being in HR, working with people and educating seems to come naturally and teaching about something we love so much and that is as magical as the alpaca, lets us know we’ve made the right choice. One day we hope to make a living from the farm and can relinquish our "other" jobs. For now, life is good and a dream is realized! |
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