Northwest Alpacas - Testimonials

Testimonials

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Dear Mike, Fred and the rest of the Gang at Northwest Alpacas

I would first like to say that meeting all of you changed and guided our thinking through the first year of our business and beyond. Attending your seminar on ‘Starting You Business in the Alpaca Industry’ was well worth the investment in 2006.

We learned so much in those 2 days that it made our heads spin with ‘giddy anticipation’ as to the possibilities of where our business could be in 4 years. Well, the 4 years are up and we must admit that we surpassed our expectations with your help.

Mike, you have been an invaluable source of information through your knowledge and books. Being able to sit and speak with you during the seminar helped us tremendously to establish our plan of action. We wish we had found you earlier, but glad that we did find you!

Fred, Fred! What can we say? You have taught us much through your wisdom, kindness and comedic wit. It’s always a pleasure and education speaking with you ‘running things by you’. Your advise has always been “spot on”, and for that we Thank You!!

We have tried to run our business by your example, with honesty, integrity and full of disclosure. Sometimes it has not been easy but we have always tried to do the right thing.

Purchasing our first herdsire from you has taken our business to the next level. He was exactly as you predicted and is the center of our breeding program. To Caerwyn’s credit, he has 2 Blue Ribbons and 1 Color Champion from TXOLAN for his fleece plus a 3rd place AOBA Nationals, gain for fleece. He has 12 cria on the ground (7 females/5 males) and 6 more due this fall. Even better, looks like he will be competing for ‘Get of Sire’ this year!!

We just wanted to express our gratitude, we hope to make it back to Oregon for a refresher seminar and truly look forward to doing business with you in the future.

Gratefully,

Kandie Candelaria
Cria Creations Alpacas Canyon Lake, TX

We've done a ton of research, visited farms, attended shows, and did more research, but this was THE best course we could've attended. First of all, all meals are provided, prepared by a Le Cordon Bleu trained chef. Absolutely scrumptious. Second, they host a wine/beer hour on Friday and Saturday evening before dinner. It's a great time to talk about the business and network with your classmates. But that's just icing on the cake.

Now to the important part...the class. Aside from the generosity of Northwest Alpaca's and Mike Safley in basically giving us free reign on his farm, we learned a ton about how to start in the Alpaca business and how to do it smart. While Mike and Fred Kraft's friendliness and willingness to help is something we've found throughout the industry, their expertise and experience give us a resource that money can't buy. We knew the basics going into the course....always breed up, avoid the temptation to buy a male, etc. But they taught us so much more. We were introduced to how EPD's (Expected Progeny Differences) are being applied to the Alpaca community and how you can use them to improve your herd. We were also introduced to the Ideal Alpaca Community and it's mission to increase the overall quality of the North American herd. They demonstrated how breeding a superior male with an average female gives you a good chance of producing a very good quality cria. Their lessons on fiber quality and what to look for were very informative. In addition, they help you put your business plan together and so much more. The most important lesson we learned is the importance of marketing, marketing, and more marketing. You can have an outstanding animal, but if you don't know how to market that animal, it might as well be a pet. If I were asked to name a mentor in the business, Northwest Alpaca's would be my choice. I know that I can always go to them with any question I have and receive sound advice that will make me a better owner.

Whether you're just starting out, or you already have alpaca's, attending this course will increase your knowledge exponentially. We highly recommend it.

Bob and Michelle Grafton
Colorado Springs, CO

I'm reading Mike's book "Synthesis of a Miracle". It's a wonderful resource, though I should have gotten the Alpaca Shephard, too! I've had several experiences with local alpaca people. Your workshop was fantastic. I feel like I have so much knowledge now. I had to bite my lip many many times because of some of the conversations. I came away from both feeling so glad you convinced us to come to Oregon and so far, I'm very glad we bought our alpacas from you!!!

Julie Follansbee
Johnstown, PA

Alpacas.com Resources What a great site and wonderful resources! We are doing our research to determine if raising alpacas are right for us and your site has been quite helpful. This is the best resource we've found for information about raising these wonderful animals.

Jim Medlock
St. Charles, MO

Steve, Jose, Dave, Bill, Fred and all NWA staff - you are fabulous! Thank you so much. I'm glad I came over today for the benefit of meeting those of you I've not yet met, and to watch Dr. Jones work with my animals and yours. It was educational and pleasant, since on this particular day, all of the news I got was good news! - 100% of the animals were pregnant, and at most, I expected 75% to be. Plus, the fact that you will trim toenails is just the ultimate wonderful helpful thing for me, as I am so tentative about it when I do it. I really really like that you are so kind and helpful that you will do this when you're here or my animals are there. This may seem like a little thing to you but it is a very good thing to me - very appreciated.

Debbie Gorham
Velveteen Alpacas
Yamhill, OR

I want you all to know what a pleasure it has been doing business with Northwest Alpacas. Seminars, continuing care, marketing and the most important thing - your time - to explain, guide, help, answer questions. I'm glad to be getting my animals home, but also hope this is just the beginning of a long-term relationship with all of you.

Don Kent
Tall Corn Alpacas, LLC
Marengo, IL

Alpacas.com Website I just wanted to drop you a note to tell you how much I appreciate your web site. I am getting ready to join the Alpaca farming business and have been doing a good bit of research on the web. I have been on line for a couple of weeks looking at different sites from time to time and haven’t been too impressed. That is until I got to your site. My desk is now covered with articles that I printed off of your site to refer back to. The information from marketing to tax planning is just great. The Alpaca Library was particularly helpful. Keep up the good work and thanks again.

Jerry Tibbott
Northern Cambria, Pennsylvania

The Pure Suri Calculator.I looked at the Pure Suri Tool when Mike announced it in his news letter. Like the historical records he added a couple of years ago to trace originating farms for the Peruvian animals, the suri tool is a great resources. Our farm greatly appreciates the effort and understands the work that goes into something like this to make it accessible to the industry.

Thank you,
Ken and Claudia Raessler
Royal River Alpaca

Just wanted to let you know how happy we are with the StudMaster Program, which our recent fleece reports verified. I don’t know if you have had a chance to look at the recent Yocom McColl results for our little herd, but this year's crop of crias turned out exactly as I had hoped, and exactly as the StudMaster program is supposed to work. Our 4 "starter Moms", with microns in the 28-30 range, all produced cria w microns in the 18-20 range w low CVs, SDs, and %over30s, obviously due to your expertise in picking really great males with the ability to pass on their attributes. Now I REALLY can't wait to see this year's cria cop. As a scientist, I really enjoy being part of Mike's Grand Experiment, to produce Alpaca EBVs. My professional motto is "Show Me the Data!" - and the Yocom-McColl results do exactly that.

Dr. Liz Kataras, Ph.D.
Blue Bird Canyon Ranch

“The IAC has now become the fastest growing source of traffic to our farm web site and is already responsible for more than half our alpaca sales, making it an exceptional source of high quality business. We frequently implement new marketing initiatives but nothing comes close to the effectiveness we enjoy from the IAC. “

Kind regards,
Adrian Stewart
Mulberry Alpacas LLC

“Peruvian Import Search Tool Mike, Thank you very much for posting information about the (Peruvian) alpaca import. I found the import database extremely helpful. I look forward to reading the article with information about each of the Peruvian farms… So, again I really look forward to your next article. Please keep up the good work.

Tim
Alpacaholic Acres

Buy Breed and Succeed Seminar Weekend Fred, I want to thank you and Mike Safley for putting on such an informative weekend. I thoroughly enjoyed both seminars and found that your education and hospitality were far above what I expected. You were both friendly, knowledgeable and approachable. As I flew back home I found that I want to continue my relationship with Northwest Alpacas in both a professional and personal manner. It is people like you that have drawn me into this business. Well, the animals too!!!
My wife and I are just beginning in this business and we have two beautiful girls to start with. I know that we have much to learn and I feel that I am already well on the way with your help.
I wish that you and your family have a wonderful holiday season!!

Thank you,
Jack O’Callaghan
Weeping Willow Farm Alpacas

Just an FYI thought you'd be interested in. Our two boys from the bred females we bought from NWA were featured on both the front page and fleece/fiber page of the 2007 Western Alpaca Extravaganza.

Sherm and Cindy Whitlock
Mountain Jewel Alpacas

"You are both pros, and it must feel great to be able to continue to contribute to this industry, as you have for so many years. Your workshop and a book of this kind are second to none. I intend to provide my new clients with your book upon purchasing their animals. "

Ken and Victoria Hibbits
Alpacas by the Sea

"A Supercharging weekend. Phenotype is out and homozygosity is in! Thank you for adding to my knowledge of alpacas so effectively. This morning I spent some time analyzing your web site and must admit to being impressed. In particular the book section which I wish I had discovered much earlier. It would have speeded my decision making immensely. Once again, a most enjoyable, intense and very informative seminar -- which I value highly -- in a setting with a delightful host. "

Michael Scott
Camanche Ranch

"Your seminar was of the very top rank. You have done a superb job. Your presentation skills, the informal shirtsleeve atmosphere, timing, and variety of topics were simply great. "

Chuck and Ann Espersen
StageCoachAlpaca

"We couldn't be happier with our recent purchase of two bred females from Northwest Alpacas. We found many animals to choose from that met our criteria. Mike provided invaluable understanding of current tax codes, attractive financing, quality animals, and marketing programs that made for an easy purchasing decision. "

Linda and Wayne Buttolph
Stonyridge Alpacas
Oregon City, Oregon

"For us it was a giant step when we bought a seven-female package from Northwest Alpacas eight months ago. We wanted to take our breeding program, which majors on fleece quality, to the next level. We definitely got what we were looking for and the investment is already paying dividends. The Studmaster program was also very attractive to us with its emphasis on progeny testing and making big-time studs available to smaller breeders, and we got in the game with a fine young herdsire. Mike and Al got very creative to help us acquire the animals we needed on terms we could afford. "

Curt and Nancy Gedney
Hummingherd Alpacas
Emmett, Idaho

"I can't say enough about Northwest Alpacas, the owners and the staff. I purchased my first 2 alpacas from them after nearly 7 years of deliberation. The staff spent all day with me, hiking the ranch IN THE RAIN, helping me to make the right choices for my starter herd. My first baby, born there, was premature, and the care they have given her has been exemplary. They have kept me well informed about her progress (very good) and I would recommend them to anyone. They have a combined wealth of knowledge, which they happily share with newcomers to the industry - the seminars have been an invaluable asset to me and many others. Their knowledge, integrity, and generosity of spirit have already made them legendary in their own time; these are the character traits that set them above the others, and the success of this industry is due in a very large measure to Mike Safley and Staff. "

Barbara Zachary
New Age Alpacas
Atascadero, California

"Mike has been a huge resource. My wife Christine and I attended the very first NWA Seminar and were introduced to people, information and ideas that fundamentally changed our understanding of breeding alpacas. Mike has been a huge resource to us as newcomers to the industry, and we're most grateful for his friendly advice - and for accepting us as joint owners of one of their best herdsires! "

John Gardiner, PhD, PE,
President, The Farm at Tickle Creek Inc.,
Director, WaterCycle Inc.
Sandy, Oregon

"Your articles provided the best technical information. Your articles have provided, for years, the best technical information I could find on alpaca fiber. I own Alpacas: Synthesis of a Miracle and found it so fascinating I read it in one night (and over again since then). "

Diahn Flair
Fort Collins, Colorado

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