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John Southcott, and his wife, Karen had developed a keen interest in alpacas and were becoming more convinced that they wanted to be part of the alpaca industry. They had enjoyed life in a rural part of Ontario but moved to a more urban area when their children entered their teens, so they wouldn’t spend all their time driving.
Karen holding Kip
Their desire to move back to the country had prompted them to purchase a seventy-five acre, one hundred year old farm in Perth, Ontario in the spring of this year.
Graycott Farm
All that remained was to purchase some alpacas. Arden was prepared to ship some alpacas from her farm in Cobble Hill to Ontario, but not until John and Karen had spent a week with her ‘walking the talk.” She kept them busy, learning the business from the ground up - literally - as they scooped poop, clipped toenails, gave shots, checked teeth and fed and watered the alpacas. At the end of the week they were more convinced than ever that their lives had to include alpacas.
Shay feeding the "kids"
They saw their dream become reality in June when thirty-two alpacas, seven of which were pregnant dams, made the trip from Vancouver Island and took up residence at Graycott Alpaca Farm. Their herd increased further when they added two llamas as guardians.
Tina and Randy standing on guard
John and Karen now have an on-farm store which also carries products made from their own fleece as well as quality imports from Peru. In the Summer of 2009 the herd at Graycott increased once again as more quality huacaya and suri alpacas made the trip from Vancouver Island.
The team at Graycott Alpaca Farm are totally committed to their beautiful animals and to providing information to all who are interested in learning about them.
‘Come and share the alpaca experience.’
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