PRESS RELEASE 1/16/2013


Dear Alpaca Colleagues and Friends,


With the holiday season behind us, we know this message will find most of you in full-on “planning mode” for the upcoming events and happenings in the alpaca world. Here at Tripping Gnome Farm, it finds us reflecting back on 2012 – it was our 10th year of full immersion in the alpaca business and our most successful year to date. It has been both challenging and rewarding to build our herd from just four alpacas into a herd of over 100 strong. The culmination of blood, sweat and yes, a few tears (and a lot of poop) resulted in many rewards. Ours is a true breeding program of exceptional depth and quality, which has earned us the Breeder of the Year Award for the past three years in a row. After much reflection, we have decided to make some changes here at Tripping Gnome Farm.

We have reduced the size of our herd to have more opportunity to focus on our family. Our two daughters have had the good fortune of growing up in the farming lifestyle surrounded by beautiful animals. However, as they continue to mature, their interests and activities send them further afield. We want to be with them at this time in their lives and the day-to-day requirements and responsibilities of operating the farm have made this difficult. A role reversal if ever there was one – they used to follow us around, now we have to follow them!

We feel very strongly that the herd which represents the Tripping Gnome breeding program is more than just the sum of its individual parts. To that end, our interest was in maintaining the integrity of the program throughout this process. We are pleased to announce that the bulk of our herd has been purchased by four discerning breeders.

Congratulations to Jen and Ian Lutz – Cas-Cad-Nac Farm, Pamela Brewster of Stillmeadow Farm, Debbie and Dwight Bailey of Seven Springs Alpaca Farm and Laurie McCallum and Dillon Hoffman of Happy Hounds Alpaca Ranch. We are confident that the program we have worked so hard to build is now in excellent hands. We are committed to supporting our clients through consultation and assistance during this transition. Yes, this means you will see us out and about on the show circuit, helping in the show ring and at events throughout the year.

The size of our herd may have diminished but our continued enthusiasm for alpacas, alpaca fiber and the alpaca industry has not! We have retained a small herd and it is our hope to remain active in all things alpaca. Through consulting and education services we plan to share the knowledge, skills and experience we have gained to continue to promote and advance the alpaca and the alpaca industry. Ursula will continue to be active within the judging community, judging fleece shows and with educational offerings.

Our most sincere wishes for a prosperous and peaceful 2013.
 

Ursula & Ryen Munro