(lively music) - [Promoter] There are so many different agricultural things that are huge in Yakima.

We're number one in hops in the nation.

We're number one in cherries in the nation.

We're number one in apples in the nation.

(lively music) There's so much in this valley that people can come and enjoy.

(lively music) (upbeat music) - My name is Jennifer Ely.

My husband John and I are the owners of Sage Bluff Alpacas in Prosser, Washington.

(lively music) (tranquil music) Prosser is known as a pleasant place with pleasant people.

We love how supportive our community is.

We're known as the birthplace of the Washington wine industry.

We absolutely love our four Seasons and the play of light on the hills.

Prosser will always be home.

We met our first alpacas at the local farmer's market and did some research and decided to add alpacas to our lives as a business rather than a hobby.

And the timing worked out that we ended up right here on the family farm, the family homestead.

It is a real partnership between my husband and myself.

He does just a tremendous job taking care of the property and the animals and I get to enjoy the animals and take care of the clients and it's a real collaboration between the two of us.

We love it.

(playful music) We have Huacaya alpacas on this farm.

We employ a method called CAMELIDynamics in the handling and training of our alpacas.

This is a method that involves the priorities of kindness, respect, safety, efficiency, and fun.

So alpacas and llamas are known to be very eco-friendly, particularly when it comes to respecting the ground.

They just nibble the tops of grass and leave the roots.

They don't pull it up by the roots.

They just have pads and toenails rather than hooves, so they don't tear up the ground with their walking.

When guests come to tour the farm, one of the things they often ask about is personalities.

And the alpacas do have very different dispositions among their herd groups.

They're very social.

They shouldn't live alone and they develop a hierarchy within each herd group.

(playful music) Some of these animals are very sociable toward human beings.

They're very personable, and others are, I am livestock, do not touch me.

(Jennifer chuckling) So yes, you can have any number of dispositions on the farm and it can change as the herd groups change.

The two earliest harvests in the Yakima Valley both begin with A, asparagus and alpaca fiber.

We shear every spring so that our alpacas can better tolerate our hot summers here in the valley.

It takes about 12 minutes to shear three bags of fiber from each alpaca.

We are also giving their annual injections.

We're trimming toenails, we're checking teeth.

So it's kind of like spa day.

So shortly after shearing, we will get each of those beautiful fleeces on the skirting table and we'll take a look at what's been produced and we'll collaborate with clients and the mill and decide what that fleece is going to be.

We honestly love to let every fleece tell us what it wants to become.

In the summer, we have our summer spin in, our Annual Fiber Arts Festival and we have fiber artists come and join us in the backyard under the shade of the old tree and they're spinning and weaving and knitting and doing all kinds of wonderful things with the fiber.

(upbeat music) When you purchase alpaca yarn or an alpaca garment, you may not be aware of the journey that that particular material has gone through.

Alpaca fiber is a unique fiber in that it is warmer, softer and stronger than sheep wool because it has no lanolin.

It's hypoallergenic for most and it's considered a luxury fiber.

So when we shear, the real joy and the real creativity comes in letting every fleece tell us what it wants to become.

This is Athena.

What you're seeing on the skirting table is the side that was closest to her skin.

This is her blanket fiber.

If you were to see this on her, you would see there sunshine side looks quite different.

That's what she looked like in the pasture before she came into the shearing barn.

So we shear three bags of fiber from each alpaca.

The first is shorn from the back of the neck to the tail from the spine midway over the ribcage.

That's the blanket fiber or your prime textile fiber.

That all comes off in one piece like this.

Then we get to collaborate with our mill owner to decide what she's going to become.

And in this case, I think with her long silky staple and her beautiful uniform color, I think she's going to spin up in a beautiful two ply fingering weight.

Next, we'll shear the neck and hip and shoulders.

That's the second cuts.

This material might be a little coarser or shorter and has a different destination, like rug yarn or felted product.

And then lastly, the third bag of fiber we remove from the animal is the leg and belly fiber, the hairier material that they live on that protects them and that will go off to be felted products or fleece lining or something like that.

So every bit of fleece that we take off the alpaca has an end use.

(tranquil music) If you had told me 25 years ago that I would be living in the country and raising alpacas, I would've told you that God has a real sense of humor.

(Jennifer chuckling) I think owning alpacas has probably been as balanced as my life has ever been.

Prior to living in the country, I spent my daylight hours in the corporate world.

I absolutely love being outside in the fresh air with these gorgeous animals, and we're grateful for that every day (lively music) - [Narrator] "Made There" is made in part with generous support from Yakima Valley Tourism.