Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 13, 1993 TAG: 9307130130
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: STEPHANIE STOUGHTON ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: HARRISONBURG LENGTH: Medium
But many of the llamas grazing on the Trubrook farm are worth much more than the average farm animal.
Breeders are willing to pay up to $1,800 for the stud services of Gatsby, a llama valued at up to $30,000, said Dr. Donna Matthews, a veterinarian who manages the 120-acre farm in Port Republic.
What makes Gatsby so valuable is his especially fine and soft fiber, which can be used to make sweaters, among other things.
"The fiber itself if valuable - more valuable than sheep wool," Matthews said.
Also a plus for breeders are his chic llama traits: pointed ears, curly tail and the few strands of hair over his face, she said.
"It's fashion that's sought after," Matthews said.
"People want the llamas that are more aesthetically pleasing. That's the game essentially."
She said the industry could change with the number of fairs having contests to see which llamas have the softest fiber wool in sought-after colors such as Gatsby's mixed dark brown and auburn. "That is a difficult color to get."
The Trubrook farm has about two dozen llamas - most of them female. Most llamas at the about 50 Virginia farms that raise them have roots in the Midwest, where the animals were first brought from South America in the late 1800s.
Llamas also have been used as pack animals, according to the International Llama Association.
Raising llamas is cheap for farmers because the animals don't eat as much as typical farm animals. Landowners like Marc and Suzi Trubitz, owners of the Trubrook farm, also can get lower taxes for using their property for agricultural purposes.
Another advantage is that llamas grow up to become hardy animals, Matthews said.
During the first 10 days after llamas are born, they need to be watched carefully. "If we're going to lose them, we're going to lose them then," she said.
But once they are mature, they're not prone to many diseases, she said. Of the 200 llamas she cares for at other farms statewide, only a handful has died from colic, bladder stones and cancer.
Llamas, like farm dogs, have been touted by breeders as being able to protect sheep from coyotes and other predators.
Several llamas at the Trubitz farm have been sold to Virginia sheep owners who have lost sheep to coyotes, Matthews said.
But federal agricultural officials say there have been no conclusive studies on whether llamas can protect sheep from coyotes.
"It's not fair to arrive at any conclusion," said Thomas Tomsa, a animal control officer with the U.S. Agricultural Department. "The subject is too new."
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.