a Suri Farm, ltd. is a convergence of our experience, desires and ideals.  We've worked many years only to discover that the true color of our parachute is a beautiful blend of the 22 shades of Suri Alpaca fleece. 

We began searching in the early 1990s for a -second career- into which Dennis could retire from over thirty years of flying helicopters.  The parameters were set - something that would generate income comparable to his current position, something that did not require arduous shift work, and something that could be worked from our home utilizing our beautiful ten-acre property. 

 Knowing that we both love animals, friends suggested all sorts of animal related careers.  Start a posh boarding stable for horses.  Don't you want some goats on that property?  How about dog training?  But nothing seemed to fit.  And then one rainy Sunday, we had a choice between cleaning the house or visiting an alpaca show that had been advertised in the local paper.  It must have been fate that convinced us the vacuuming could wait for another day.

We attended the Mid Atlantic Alpaca Association Jubilee at the Pennsylvania State Farm Show Complex during one of the largest alpaca shows on the east coast.  There were over 1200 alpacas in attendance.  It was an excellent opportunity for us to meet with various breeders and owners and ask tons of questions about the investment, the lifestyle, and the animals in general.  We learned the difference between the two types of alpaca - Huacaya (wa-Ki-ya) with fuzzy, crimped fleece and the Suri with its silky, pencil-locked elegance.  It was just by looking that we began to focus solely on the Suri.  By the month's end and many hours of research we narrowed our focus even further to Suri of Peruvian origin.