Alpaca farms are not just a business, they are a lifestyle, according to Monica and Walt Snavley.

The Snavleys are the owners of Bully Hollow Alpaca Farm, located about six miles north of Tidioute on Route 62.

What started as a search to find something to fill their barn turned into a business and a passion for everything alpaca.

"We had the barn and we had the pasture," Monica said, "and Walt had a degree in agriculture engineering. He wanted to farm something."

Monica admitted that her first instinct was to get horses. However, with a full-time job and four teenagers at home, she knew finding time to ride would be nearly impossible. The Snavleys thought about other animals including pigs, but Walt said, "Monica didn't want to raise anything she had to eat."

After a suggestion from a friend, Walt and Monica began to research the idea of having an alpaca farm. Visiting other farms, the Snavleys learned about the business and the lifestyle.

The two most common reasons people get into alpaca farming, according Monica, is either for the fleece the animals produce or breeding the animals.

"They produce a beautiful and soft, like cashmere, fiber," she said. "The goal as a fiber industry to get more alpaca farms going to keep an American manufacturer."

Currently, much of the goods made from alpaca fiber are made in Peru and imported.

Bully Hollow Alpaca Farm is a member of the Alpaca Fiber Cooperative of North America, which allows the Snavleys to send the fiber harvested from their herd to the cooperative for a small fee. The cooperative then produces goods with the fiber which the members can sell as their own product.

Per scientific studies, Monica said, "Alpaca fiber is stronger, softer and warmer than wool."

Although the fiber is a major part of the industry, an alpaca is shorn only once a year and can produce five to ten pounds of fleece.

Breeding is also a major part of the alpaca industry. To give an idea of the profitability of breeding, the father of Bully Hollow's Holly Berry and grandfather of Kinkade sold for nearly $500,000 as a top of the line herd sire.

The Snavleys bred one of their females, Lizzy, with a male from another farm. They chose the male based on the positive physical traits they wanted to see in the offspring. The farm with the male receives a fee for the breedings.

"Although, the cost of breeding has gone down," Walt said, noting that in the past, a breeding could cost $1,500 but now costs around $800.

Monica has found herself fascinated by the genetics involved in breeding. For example, Monica admits that Lizzy's legs are spindly and her face is not well covered with fleece. By selecting a male with the attributes Lizzy is lacking, the new offspring improves the bloodline.

"That's what you want to do when you breed, you want to improve," Walt said.

Aside from the fleece production and breeding of alpacas, the show ring world is another aspect of the lifestyle. Bully Hollow won three ribbons at the Western New York Alpaca Show, including a first-place ribbon for Black Velvet, who was bred at Bully Hollow.

"That tells me that our breeding program is doing very well," Monica said.

After delving into the alpaca farming four years ago, the Snavleys are getting into the retail aspect of the business with the opening of Knit & Purl Boutique. Monica is working on her own crafts made from alpaca fleece and importing others from Peru.

The Snavleys are excited about their farm, and are ready and willing to accept questions from anyone. The couple celebrating National Alpaca Farms and the grand opening of Bully Hollow Alpaca Farm and Knit & Purl Boutique on Saturday, Sept. 26 and Sunday, Sept. 27 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event will welcome the public to meet the alpacas and learn more about the animals.

For more information visit www.bullyhollowalpacas@zoominternet.net.