Our Farm Philosophy
Suri Futures keeps its herd on 16 beautiful acres of pasture near the Illinois River about 25 miles North of the Oregon- California border off Highway 199.
After raising alpacas in Clackamas County Oregon for 7 years, we brought our herd to the Illinois River Valley in SW Oregon in 2007. Our farm is a demonstration for small-scale sustainable agriculture, integrating small livestock into local food production systems.
When cleaning the barns each day, we provide a layer of bedding made of wood shavings and straw. The wood shavings catch and absorb the 'paca-pee', and the straw catches the 'paca-poo'. When we scoop the poop, we're producing a raw compost product for local farmers and gardeners. "Paca-Poo" is a scientifically designed blend of carbon and nitrogen. We let it decompose for 3-6 months, then offer this optimum compost product that is ready to grow the best vegetables and flowers possible. You can drive your truck to the farm, where we'll deliver it by the tractor bucket into your truck bed for $30/ scoop, with quantity discounts given on site. If you'd like to order your paca-poo, please call Christine at 541-415-2614.
To see the video of our Papapoo program covered by the Grants Pass Courier Thursday Oct 6th, visit this link http://web.thedailycourier.
The suri herd is shorn each year in Spring. We shear about 450 lbs of suri alpaca fiber each year, and process that fleece into some of the finest suri alpaca yarns available in the US today. We create new prototype yarns each year, including suri blended with other fibers such as silk and fine huacaya. We breed for spring (May-June) and fall (Sept- Oct) baby alpacas or crias, avoiding the weather extremes of summer and winter. The best insurance we can provide our clients is to offer proven dams as breeding livestock; girls who have given birth at least once. A maiden can have challenges with her first birth, but once a girl has her first cria, she's easier to rebreed and is a lower risk for her new owners. That's why we offer proven females to our clients, rather than maiden females. That policy protects our clients. We recommend to anyone considering the alpaca business, to start with a small herd of gelded fiber males. For a very modest investment, you can learn how to care for alpacas, how to halter them, trim toes and other basics. If you like this lifestyle, then breeding suris may be right for you. We offer a superb line of fiber-male suri alpacas, in whom we take great pride. Please contact us if you are interested in our generic business plan for the non-breeding alpaca farm, that produces fiber and compost for profit.