We didn’t start with llamas, we hadn’t even thought about them, it all started with 4-H. Our daughter Hope wanted to show animals in 4-H, and my wife knew a guy that had a bottle lamb he wanted to get rid of, so we took it on, that year we were just learning the ins and outs, the next year we had a return bucket bottle and a new bucket bottle, then a calf showed up and another, I found myself fencing in more and more of our back yard. We did well at the county level but Hope never had the desire to go beyond the return bucket bottle stage because if she made it through and qualified for the state fair that would interfere with her state fair fun. We go every year and camp there for the entire fair, and we volunteer, the Iowa State Fair had a program to get kids involved called the Iowa State Fair kids program, where kids could volunteer to help at the fair they earned points and could turn those points in to stuff. Well one year my daughter was assigned the barn, specifically to help people find their stalls when they brought their llamas in. Well that night we all met back at the camper for dinner and Hope said “You have to come to the barn and see the llamas they are beautiful” so off we went to the barns, Hope runs ahead of us and comes around the corner with a llama in tow, I was a little upset that she just grabbed an animal without anyone’s permission and began to chew her out as we were walking, as we turned the corner there stood the owner of the llama, with a big smile on her face, and she said “I told her to come walk them any time, she is so good with them.” We stood there and talked with her for a while as hope brushed and petted her llama. As we were walking back to the camper my wife turned to me and said “you know she is going to want a llama now right?” Well a couple of weeks later I found myself researching llamas and looking for people that sold them in Iowa. I found a guy that had some for sale and he invited us to his farm for a visit. The next weekend we went to his place and met with him, he had llamas and peacocks and lots of other animals, he was super nice, talked to us about llamas, told us that llamas are a heard animal and they don’t do well on their own, so we would need at least two. We looked at what he had and got around to pricing, I about fell over, he must have seen the look on my face, and he said these are probably more of what you are looking for to get started, he was right I wouldn’t have to sell a kidney to buy them. Then he invited us into his home, we stepped into his office and the trophies and ribbons were everywhere, we talked more about why llamas for us what we were looking for and he suggested we go to his grandson's house a few miles away. So we went there we walked all over that farm as we talked, the whole time unbeknownst to us they were trying to figure out how serious we were and what exactly we were looking for. It wasn’t very long and he asked if we saw anything we liked, well Hope said I like that one and that one and that one and that… well you get the idea, he chuckled and said I tell you what, I’ll sell you that girl there with the white boy on her side, she is bread back but she will need a anther to keep her company so I have a gelding I will sell with her and here’s the price. We talked a bit more then headed home. We had a lot to think about; we looked at our land and priced fence, and a few other things to get a better idea of the cost. We told Hope we would cover the cost of the fence and everything else but that meant we could not help with the cost of the llamas, she had to figure out how to pay for them by herself, she had already sold her bottle lambs and her return bucket bottle calf, and with her entire savings, she was short, she was heartbroken, I suggested she call the guy and make him an offer, she practiced what she wanted to say, then picked up the phone and called him, in a soft voice she started her pitch, as they were talking I heard her say yes, ok, then her face changed and her eyes light up. I knew before she got off the phone she bought llamas. She was so happy. Well the deal that got made was that Hope agreed to show them, and he would accept her offer. Here we are a few years later, we started with 3 and now have expanded every year. We made a couple of friends that weekend when a girl wanted to buy a llama, we have made several more along this journey from this state and different states, we show together laugh together and help each other whenever however we can. We have found that the llama community is so helpful, the people that win all the time, walk over and talk to them, not only will they talk to you they will give you advice on how to do better. 

 If you are reading this and are thinking about llamas come to our farm or a farm near you to learn more about llamas. The best advice we can give you is get at least one good mentor, they are worth their weight in gold ten times over.