DE PERE, Wis. — Out of all 50 states, Wisconsin ranks in the top 10 for most alpacas. There are nearly 8,000 in the state, according to the Alpaca Owners Association, Inc. 

What You Need To Know

  • Out of all 50 states, Wisconsin ranks in the top 10 for most alpacas. There are nearly 8,000 in the state

  • Alpacas at Sabamba Alpaca Ranch in De Pere are raised for the fleece that they produce on their bodies

  • Right now, Schmidt said she’s monitoring her alpacas extra closely because of the rise in temperatures. It’s usually much colder in Wisconsin through April

  • Alpaca fleece is warmer than wool, hypo-allergenic and water-repellent. It’s also becoming a hot commodity

This year, the unseasonably warm weather in Wisconsin has some alpaca owners concerned.

Sally Schmidt and her husband started Sabamba Alpaca Ranch 17 years ago.

“The alpaca is a gentle animal,” said Schmidt. “It’s small. It’s very intelligent.”

They help educate new and existing alpaca owners in Wisconsin. They also breed alpacas to improve the quality of their fiber and to sell to other farms.

“These animals are raised for the fleece that they produce on their bodies,” said Schmidt. “They get sheared once a year and that shearling is used to make clothing.”

Schmidt has a store on-site that sells sweaters and winter-weather gear made from her alpacas’ fleece. She also has a website.

“There are many people that I can literally improve the quality of their life every day simply by getting them to wear this product because it can protect you so well from the cold,” said Schmidt.

Alpaca fleece is warmer than wool, hypo-allergenic and water-repellent. It’s also becoming a hot commodity.

Alpacas are known for being earth-friendly creatures as well. Their padded hooves cause minimal land damage. They require little water and produce less waste, compared to other livestock.

Right now, Schmidt said she’s monitoring her alpacas extra closely because of the rise in temperatures. It’s usually much colder in Wisconsin through April.

At Schmidt’s farm, they shear the fleece off the alpacas once a year in May.

“If spring comes really, really early, and that temperature goes up really, really high before shearing day comes, we’re going to be dealing with possibly 90-degree heat in full fleece,” Schmidt said. “The ones in particular we worry about in this situation would be the pregnant moms, because they might lose a baby if they get heat stress really bad.”

Schmidt said she has lost members of the herd before due to heat stress and never wants it to happen again.

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