Raising Alpacas for Fun and Profit

From VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture Report.

Alpacas are large animals with long, thick hair. They are related to camels and lamas. Most of them live in the Andean area of South America. But a growing number of them are being raised in the United States. VOA recently visited an Alpaca Farm near Washington to find out why.

Alpacas are being sheared at an Alpaca Farm in Maryland, less than an hour away from the nation's capital. Shearing is the process of removing that thick, heavy covering of fleece from the animal. Some of the alpacas quietly let the owners shear them, but some of them do not like it at all.

The alpacas on Sugarloaf Farm are sheared to keep them cool during the hot summer months. The shearing is also profitable for farm owner Kevin Brandt. He says there is a growing demand for alpaca wool.

"We're finding that there are more people in the marketplace looking for alpaca yarns because it's considered to be hypoallergenic, and it's really as soft as cashmere," Brandt said.

Mr Brandt and his workers turn the fleece from the animals into yarn, using an equipment at the farm. Mr Brandt sales natural and colored yarn, and other alpaca products in his store at the farm. But that is not the only way he makes money from his animals.

"We raise and sell alpacas as bred females. We also sell pet males and fiber males to others. We also have a stud service where we'll take our stud males around for hire," Brandt said.

Mr Brandt says he entered the Alpaca of farming business, because he and his family love the animals.

"My wife Nancy and oldest daughter and I were at the local country fair and we decided to stop into one more barn before we went home and it happened to be the alpaca barn and almost instantly we fell in love with the alpacas," Brandt said.

Experts estimate there are about 300,000 alpacas in the United States. Mr Brandt says fewer alpacas live in places other than South America. The Farm's website says 99 percent of the 3 million alpacas in the world live in Peru, Bolivia and Chile.

"Alpaca are just a wonderful livestock. They're gentle. We've raised our three kids here and it's a wonderful lifestyle to have," said Brandt.

And as more and more people learn about the joy and money alpacas can bring, he believes there will be even more farms like his.

And that's the VOA Learning English Agriculture Report. For more agriculture stories, go to our website tingvoa.com. I'm Caty Weaver.

词汇解析

shear

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

n.修剪;剪下的东西;大剪刀

v.剪掉;剪;剥夺

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

With a few quick snips of the shear he pruned the bush.

他用大剪刀几下子就把灌木给修剪好了。

用作动词 (v.)

All her curls have been shorn off.

她的一头卷发被剪得精光。

profitable

难度：3星常用词汇，属常用6000词

英汉解释

adj.有益的;有利可图的

参考例句

用作形容词 (adj.)

We hope the transaction may lead to a mutually profitable connection between us.

我方希望此次交易能导致对贵我双方有益的联系。

He studied the German market to find the potential there for profitable investment.

他对德国的市场进行了研究以寻求投资获利的可能性。

demand

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

n.要求;需求

v.要求;查问;需要

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

The demand for coal begins to slacken off in the spring.

煤的需求在春天开始减少。

用作动词 (v.)

All these questions demand careful and detailed study.

这些都需要认真具体的研究。

natural

难度：5星基本词汇，属常用1000词

英汉解释

adj.自然的;天然的;私生的

参考例句

用作形容词 (adj.)

It is natural that he should fall in love with such a beautiful girl.

他爱上那位美丽的姑娘是很自然的事。