About Us
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We are Dave & Sue Jones and have owned alpacas since September 2002. After first hearing about alpacas in March 2002, we decided that we needed to see what these animals were all about, firsthand. At the time, we were raising a few beef cattle, and had raised a few pigs before that. We knew we enjoyed the farming way of life, but wanted to do something that we might actually be able to make a living at and be able to retire from. After doing some research on the Internet and finding information from the Alpaca Owners & |
Breeders Association (AOBA) website about some farms in our area, we decided that we needed to visit a farm. We did just that. Realizing that we weren’t in a financial position at that time to purchase any alpacas, we set out to learn all we could about them, to be sure it was what we wanted to do. We attended our first show that April, the MaPaca show in Harrisburg, PA. From that moment on, there was no looking back – we were hooked! We continued throughout the summer to visit more farms and attend workshops and seminars, talking to as many breeders as we could to get all the different perspectives from them. There was a lot of things that had to be considered and a lot of things to learn. We began working on our business plan. By September 2002, we purchased our first 4 alpacas – all of them gelded males. Since we still could not afford to purchase breeding stock at that time, we figured this was the best way to have alpacas and really begin to understand about their care. We have sold 2 of those boys since then, but we began purchasing our breeding stock in the spring of 2003. Now, as of this writing in May of 2004, West Winds Alpaca Ranch is home to 17 alpacas (6 of which are owned by Prestige Alpaca Breeders and agisted with us), and we’re continuing to grow. By the end of fall in 2004, we will have as many as 23. |
What have we done with our lives? Well, Dave has worked most of his adult life in manufacturing, although in recent years, that has been an area that has declined fairly steadily in our area. He grew up in the ‘burbs, with no experience whatsoever in farming. He did, and still does, have a passion for the outdoors, enjoying backpacking, hiking, camping, and canoeing. An Eagle Scout, he has spent the past 40 plus years involved in Boy Scouting and works closely with his troop in nearby Springville as the Eagle Scout |
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Advisor. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Management in 2002, and can’t wait to put all of those skills seriously to work in our alpaca business. Sue grew up in nearby Springville, starting out at a young age working at her dad’s store (a small grocery store) and spending several more years working in retail. She finally decided that office/clerical work was what she really enjoyed. She has spent the past nearly 8½ years working for Cattaraugus County. She is currently the County Payroll Clerk, responsible for the time and attendance system and helping to keep those County employees paid! She loves the peace and serenity one feels when being around the alpacas, and loves to be out there with them and photographing them.
At the moment, we both work full time outside the home, but look forward to the day when the ranch and the alpacas become our full time jobs. Nothing would be more rewarding than to have that commute to work that all alpaca breeders cherish: “The walk to the barn.”
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