An alpaca whisperer

Jul. 30—What began as a love for horses turned into a passion for alpacas.

As well as llamas.

In fact, Tracy Wilson is somewhat of an "alpaca whisperer," one customer called her.

"I think if you are around alpacas and close to them for years, you learn the little quirks," Wilson said, "and how to act around them."

As Wilson spoke, alpacas Dagr and Gunner grazed on leaves from a fallen tree limb. Wilson said "those two know how to get in the doggie door...and its always the same two," she said of a fenced section near her farm home.

Wilson, 51, owns Aris Farm located about a quarter mile west of Universal in Vermillion County. She inherited the farm from her grandmother in 2001. While now an alpaca farm, it is named after her first horse, which her parents bought when she was in the 6th grade. It was an Arabian horse that died in 2005 at the age of 25.

Her journey to her farm began in the military.

From 1989 to 1996, Wilson served in the U.S. Navy as an electronics technician in South Korea, Guam and Diego Garcia, repairing and calibrating radar and communication equipment. Then, from 1998 to 2015, Wilson was a chief warrant officer in the Indiana Army National Guard and was deployed for a year to Iraq in 2008 as a maintenance technician as part of Indiana's 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

"I went from the military to here. And basically I went in so I could afford to get my college paid for, so when I came back I did that," graduating in 2000 from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College with a bachelor of science degree in equine studies.

She then served as alpaca herd manager for Sisters of Providence from 2001 to 2016 where she maintained health and well being of the alpaca herd, trained and supervised interns, volunteers and staff involved with the alpacas.

"At first, all I wanted to do was work with horses. I worked for the equine barn (at Saint Mary-of-the Woods College) to train horses and give lessons," she said. She was also training horses on customer farms who did not have "correct facilities to be training horses. I thought I just need to get a job to get enough money to build a barn so I could board horses here and train them.

"But I got really involved in the alpacas. I did get my barn built and I did train horses, but then I got so involved in the alpaca industry, because at the time, my boss, Sister Ann Sullivan, was sending me to workshops and clinics all over, like Ohio State University which has the International Camelid Institute," Wilson said.

The Sisters of Providence started breeding alpacas "and we bought some high dollar animals and we were showing a lot nationally. I just feel in love with all of that. Over the next five years, my barn turned into something different, weening off horses and I built up alpacas. My first two alpacas were from the White Violet Center" for Eco-Justice.

"I also ended up with a rescue alpaca and a huarizo," which is a cross between a male llama and a female alpaca, Wilson said. "He (the huarizo) ended up being one of our favorite animals and became a 4-H animal, too. Then I bought a couple of breeding females. I didn't do a lot of breeding, but on and off I built my own herd."

Wilson now owns about 20 alpacas, and a llama, plus she boards three other llamas. Of her alpacas, four are Suri.

While there is only one species of alpaca, the re are two fleece types or breeds called Huacaya and Suri alpacas.

In 2022, Indiana farms have 4,998 registered alpacas, with 1,061 Suri and 3,937 Huacaya, according to Alpaca Owners Association Inc., a not-for-profit based in Lincoln, Nebraska. The alpaca association has about 4,000 members and more than 280,000 alpacas in its registry database.

Huacaya alpacas produce a curly, dense and soft wool, while Suri alpacas have longer cylindrical locks resembling dreadlocks. The fiber of the Suri alpaca is rarer and more highly prized than that of the Huacaya alpaca type, according to the alpaca association. Huacaya is the most prevalent comprising about 90 percent of the alpacas in the United States and up to 98 percent worldwide. Both breeds are about the same size and live in the same environments.

Revenue for Aris Farm comes from a variety of agribusiness ventures. It includes revenue from alpaca fiber used to make sweaters and socks, but also from selling chicken and duck eggs, providing educational camps, providing recreational camping, offering training, plus working with 4-H clubs.

Wilson shears the alpacas each spring.

"It is not easy to sell, you have to put a lot of effort into it. Last year I sent most of my fiber into a mill in Tennessee and then I get yarn back and I sell the yarn," she said. She also got some "roving," a stage of the alpaca fiber before it is ready to go into a spinning wheel, Wilson said.

"Yarn is easier to sell. Roving I can sell online to hand spinners. You have to know your target consumers," Wilson said. "But if you are in for just that, you are not going to make money. You need to do other things too, unless it is for a hobby."

In addition to alpacas and llamas, the 20-acre farm has 13 dairy goats, three mini donkeys, two mini horses, chickens, 15 ducks for duck eggs, three pot belly pigs, two horses, as well as dogs and cats.

For other revenue, the farm last year started offering educational day camps.

"This year we had two four-day camps in June and they were maxed out," she said. Each camp has 12 to 14 participants.

Family friend Doug Bohannon said a nature trail was built on the farm "so we could label trees so (camp goers) could identify them. I also buy (fake) arrowheads and I will throw them out in a certain spot for them to find."

Another revenue source started this year is becoming a "Hipcamp," Wilson said, similar to being an Airbnb.

"We just had our first Hipcampers last weekend," Wilson said. "They camped out of the back of their van. We do have some camp sites out back. We also have an area with a concrete slab and the bathroom (building) on the farm. We gave them a tour and were they can go and what they can expect such as you will hear roosters and dogs.

"You hear about Airbnb, but this for people who like to camp. It is people's farms and backyards. People reserve and pay for their stay on the (Hipcamp) website. Hipcamp provides the insurance for people on your land," she said.

And Wilson and her sister, Wendy Wagner, share a booth at Northside Pickers in Clinton, a small vendor mall. "I sell the fiber items and socks and yarn and Doug Bohannon makes things we sell."

Also Bohannon started "inspired and rewired" making artwork using bale wire. That work can be seen on Instagram by searching for "inspired.and.rewired." He has made more than 160 pieces, with revenue going to the farm.

Perhaps most rewarding for Wilson is working with 4-H members. Wilson started as a 4-H leader in Vigo County and remains involved in that 4-H club. But now she is also a leader in the Vermillion County 4-H Alpaca and Llama Club.

While she sells very few alpacas, Wilson also as doesn't breed much. However, her most recent alpaca is 9-month-old Dagr, a Suri alpaca. Dagr was shown at the Vigo County Fair this year by Jalie Scott, 16, who lives in Vermillion County but is a member of Vigo County 4-H. Scott trains at Aris Farm.

"We won grand champion in grand alpaca showmanship," Scott said. "It was Dagr's first show and first time off the farm and (Dagr) worked with me really well," adding she began halter training Dagr when he was four months old.

Wilson started training for the fair with 4-H members in March, holding practices on her farm and at the White Violet Center. Wilson still works for Saint Mary-of-the-Woods on contract, "so when they need shots, or breeding or birthing, they give me a holler. I help them out every other weekend with interns," she said.

For those wanting an up close look at alpacas, Aris Farm will stage an "Open Barn" on Sept. 17-18, with tours of the farm and games for children. Look for the Aris Farm Facebook page for more information.

Reporter Howard Greninger can be reached 812-231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com. Follow on Twitter@TribStarHoward.