A love for alpacas leads to a business opportunity for a local couple at TMMA Farms & Sanctuary.
TMMA Farms & Sanctuary is holding an open house this weekend.
If you’re an alpaca or llama, it’s finally your time of year in Northwest Georgia. Winter has arrived and that means the critters at TMMA Farms & Sanctuary in Trion are happy animals and ready to greet visitors for the holidays.
In fact, the farm at 1570 Halls Valley Road is holding an open house this weekend — from 11 a. m. until 4 p. m. Saturday and Sunday. There is a $ 10 parking fee, which helps defray expenses for both the animals and seasonal help.
Many of the workers are Berry College students, according to Maryann Marsh, who owns the farm with her husband, Marty Marsh.
Alpacas and llamas are native to the high mountain region of Chile, Ecuador and Peru in South America. Hailing from that region means they are best adapted for colder climates. The Marshes close the farm during the summer because the heat puts too much stress on the animals.
“They are naturally very skittish creatures but they’re also very curious ones,” Maryann said. “Some will come right up to youy you but others will tend to keep away.” Maryann and Marty have been work w o r k i n g
with
pacas and llamas for about 20 years, raising the critters for fleece and breeding them to sell the offspring.
Alpaca fleece is comparable to cashmere, Maryann said, and is extremely warm.
“It’s also naturally hypoallergenic,” she said. “We have a lot of folks who are allergic to wool. It makes them itch and break out, but alpaca won’t.”
The alpaca
fleece is much more dense than the llamas’ and as a result the alpacas get sheared annually.
“We shear them every year in the spring, usually the first week in April,” Maryann said. “We get over 150 pounds of fleece per season.”
Each alpaca is capable of producing between three to six pounds of fleece a year.
The couple started the farm with just two alpacas in 2003.
“It was purely l accidental,” d l Maryann said. “I came across my first alpacas 25 years ago. They were just sup
posed to
be a couple cutie patooties in the backyard. We now have over 50.”
Three quarters of their current herd were bred on the farm but they also have taken in several special needs alpacas and llamas.
They were just supposed to be a couple cutie patooties in the backyard. We now have over 50.”
Maryann Marsh
Marty explained that there are two different breeds of alpacas, the Suri and the Huacaya. You can tell the two breeds apart by their fleece. The Suri fleece might remind one of dreadlocks while the Huacaya is very fine and fluffy.
Aside from shearing the fleece for customized clothing and other products, TMMA Farms & Sanctuary breeds the alpacas for sale.
Maryann recommends that people interested in raising alpacas adhere to a six-peracre rule of thumb, but she emphasized that they are very social creatures.
“If these are your first ones, we require that you get at least two or more,” she said. “They need a like friend and get stressed if they don’t have a like friend.”
While the animals are a bit exotic, they have familiar ways.
“Alpacas are true grazers, meaning they don’t rip up the roots,” she said. “When they eat the pasture they just trim the grass.”
She does supplement the grazing with alpaca or llama feed, generally copper-free, which is available in many farm supply stores.
The llamas at TMMA Farms & Sanctuary are there to illustrate the difference between the two South American animals and to guard the alpacas from predators, primarily coyotes. Donkeys also serve as guard critters.
The Marshes added the word “sanctuary” to the farm’s name during the past year
as they have started taking in rescue animals.
“We are a full working farm but we also rescue,” Maryann said. “We have an 8- month- old blind alpaca named Sampson. He came to us when he was five and a half weeks old.”
They also have a blind llama named Pedro, and Carrie, a 16-year-old llama that had been physically abused. Other rescues are miniature ponies and a registered miniature therapy donkey named Buckaroo.
“He goes to old folks homes, retirement communities and hospitals,” Maryann said. “With COVID-19 he’s stuck close to home this year so we’re looking forward to getting him back on the road next year.”
The couple is asking people coming for the open house
this weekend to bring nonperishable food items, which will be given to needy folks through a church food bank. The donation will result in a 10% discount on anything purchased from the farm store.
The store offers a wide variety of gifts ranging from sweaters and gloves to incredibly warm socks, scarves and much more.
Maryann said she started with New Era Fiber in Gallatin, Tennessee, recently and much of their fleece is now processed there. New Era specializes in both Suri and Huacaya alpaca fleece.
They also sell alpaca roving — fibrous material between raw fleece and spun yarn — as well as yarn for crocheters and knitters.
“We work with a co- op up north and we send our
fleece there where some of it is processed for our final products,” Maryann said. “We also have a lot of handmade items. Folks all over the United States actually make things for our shop so it’s a little bit of everything.”
Hunting socks are a big seller in the store during the fall because they hold warmth so well.
Small Town BBQ will be on hand this weekend along with a few other arts and crafts vendors for the kickoff to the holiday season.
For those who plan to attend the open house, Maryann said closed- toed shoes are always suggested. Masks are not required but social distancing will be practiced throughout the farm. Hand sanitizer will also be available all over the farm.