2008 Angel Tree Farm

Farm City Day 2008 was hosted on Saturday, August 9 by Angel Tree Farm Alpacas, 554 Scofield Road, Lansing, NY owned by Jay and Carol Engels and Carol's parents, Mal and Ellie Hunter.

In four short years, Angel Tree Farm has grown from three adult female alpacas, two with Crias (offspring), to a herd of 30, including 12 females. They have now reached a point where their breeding stock is sufficient to sell offspring; they have already sold 9 alpacas. The family also shears the herd and sells some of the fiber, while having the rest spun into yarn. There is a farm gift shop with many lovely and practical, soft and warm alpaca fiber items, including hand knitted, hand felted one-of-a-kind hats by Ellie.

Farm City Day will be a great opportunity to learn all about this increasingly popular small ruminant: dietary and husbandry needs, lifecycle and breeding, how alpaca fiber differs from other natural fibers, and what makes them a worthwhile investment.

This event is a celebration of the food and fiber system, and Angel Tree Farm offers a chance to explore the fiber system in detail. In addition to the always-popular Sheep and Border Collie exhibition with Sharon Garland, visitors can expect to see spinners, weavers and fiber artists plying their crafts. Attendees can also get some lunch at the 4-H concession stand, sit in the food tent across from one of the pastures and watch the alpacas, which incidentally come in 22 natural colors, frolic and roam.

Angel Tree Farm is also home to peacocks, chickens, rabbits, and a few llamas, so there will be lots of animals to check out.

Last updated September 25, 2015