Why Invest in Alpacas?
Alpacas...the "World's Finest Livestock Investment"
We get many questions to why we decided to go into alpaca farming. You may have read our story, but there are other reasons as well. There are many alpaca farms in our country and each has their own unique story as to why they decided to raise alpacas. Alpaca farmers are a very diverse group of people from single to married, as well as young to retired. Alpacas offer a great way to diversify your financial portfolio with a commodity that is still considered rare as well as in demand worldwide. Here are some valid reasons to invest in alpacas:
We get many questions to why we decided to go into alpaca farming. You may have read our story, but there are other reasons as well. There are many alpaca farms in our country and each has their own unique story as to why they decided to raise alpacas. Alpaca farmers are a very diverse group of people from single to married, as well as young to retired. Alpacas offer a great way to diversify your financial portfolio with a commodity that is still considered rare as well as in demand worldwide. Here are some valid reasons to invest in alpacas:
- Easy to raise and maintain once your farm is established.
- Demand for alpacas has increased every year since the original herd was purchased in 1984.
- Awareness of the unique quality of alpaca fiber is increasing with worldwide recognition.
- There are many ways to make a profit with alpacas from sales of the animals themselves to sales of their fleece, fleece products, and even meat products.
- Alpacas are eligible for livestock insurance, therefore, you can protect your investment.
- Supply and demand: There are a limited number of alpacas in the U.S. and throughout the world. The number of alpacas grows fairly slowly since they have a long gestation period with one offspring at a time (surviving twin births are very rare in alpacas). At the same time, demand is steadily growing for both alpacas and their fleece. More Americans are learning about alpacas all the time and recognizing alpacas as a viable source of income, as well as an attractive and enjoyable lifestyle. Worldwide demand for alpaca fleece is steadily growing throughout the textile industry as more people learn about and seek out alpaca products for their beautiful natural colors and amazing softness and warmth.
- While you are building your herd and enjoying these lovable animals, your investment continues to grow in size and multiply in numbers.
Tax Benefits of Owning Alpacas
Amazing tax advantages are available, especially for new alpaca farms on their initial purchases. Benefits available to you may include depreciation of the cost of alpacas purchased and writing off of farm maintenance expenses. We recommend that you discuss the possible advantages with a tax accountant to maximize your benefits. Here are some IRS publications with details and specific tax instructions for alpaca farmers:
- IRS Publication 225, Farmers Tax Guide
- IRS Publication 946, How to Depreciate Property
- IRS Revenue Procedure 87-56 and 88-22
- IRS FS-2008-23, June 2008
- IRS Regulation § 1.183-2(b)
- For additional information about how to make sure that you're correctly applying for all the benefits available, be sure to have an accountant that is familiar with alpaca farming.
What kind of things you should think about when you are looking into Alpacas for your farm? We can help you with this, so can be prepared. Learn more about how we can help at at our Michigan alpaca farm.
