How Does One Get "Here"?

As Maine natives, Jo & Jay grew up with an appreciation for mother nature. When they moved to New Hampshire at the end of the last century (sounds mighty impressive when said that way - 10 years isn't really that long ago), the move was driven by Jay's need for flexible travel options to support his professional responsibilities. The Manchester Airport (now with the presumptuous name of "Manchester-Boston Regional Airport") was a good solution, so we started looking for a new home nearby.

We discovered Destiny's Farm, and fell in love with the land. Though there was a fairly new 2-story cape on the property, it was the 15 acres of bottom land along the Piscataquog River that really caught our eye. And, turns out it was the site of the first homestead in Weare, dating back to 1750. Nathaniel Martin's foundation stones lie where they were originally set, though nothing else remains of any structures. The property was an agricultural site for most of the time since then, most recently a cucumber farm with sheep back in the 60's & 70's.

Neither  of us would have been considered "farmers", but both wanted to explore that way of life. Shortly after moving on to the new property, concord grapes and bog cranberries were discovered on the property, in sufficient quantity to develop into farm products for our use as well as to share with friends. We wanted to get involved in livestock of some sort, but did not want anything large enough to be dangerous or high-maintenance. We stumbled across alpacas at local fairs back in the late '90s, and decided to investigate further. After a couple of years of visiting alpaca breeders and going to shows, we decided to give it a shot. We brought our first 5 alpacas home in October 2000 - all pet quality, of course, just in case we inadvertently "lost" them. After about a year, it became apparent that alpacas were very low maintenance and very easy to care for, so we decided to invest in the highest quality breeding alpacas we could afford.

We are now the proud owners of a successful alpaca breeding operation, and are focused on developing a diverse selection of products to complement our alpaca operations. Long term goals include a small but selective breeding program to support the local fiber industry, value add products based on our renewable fiber resource, and the future growth and development of the alpaca industry. Related or complementary product lines that support a sustainable environment are also a focus. It all comes down to operating a successful micro-agricultural enterprise in today's environment - hard work, fair return on investment, and satisfied customers, whom we consider friends of the farm.

"OK, everyone has a bad hair day, right?"

This is Highlander, one of our gelding alpacas. The biggest farm product we offer - alpacas, with prices starting at $350. If you are looking for gentle companion animals, just want a couple to shear every year for the fiber, or quality breeding stock from recognized bloodlines to start or rejuvenate an existing breeding program, check out our sales list here.