Tuesday, October 21, 2008

pooptacular!

http://www.newerspreader.com/newmodel.htm

Our shiny new manure spreader. Charles's dream come true.

He actually sold his English sports car so he could buy this. Sad, but true. It was NOT Maren's idea, either.

We'll let you know how it works out once we play with it some. :)

m

Alpaca 401 (k)

http://www.kmbc.com/cnn-news/17741606/detail.html

Our herd has doubled in value since we bought the orginal 4 animals four years ago. Not bad, especially considering the current economic turmoil.

Of course, just like stocks and bonds, to get that money we'd have to sell the alpacas. Maybe next year. :)

maren

Monday, October 06, 2008

Alpacas in the WSJ!

This article was on the front page of the Wall Street Journal!

"When Stocks Tank, Some Investors Stampede to Alpacas and Turn to Drink"

Here's a couple lines of the article...

"Peggy Parks, a 49-year-old auditor in Johnstown, Pa., turned to an unusual farm animal. "I've lost a fortune in stocks, and my 401(k) is falling through the floor. I feel comfortable in alpacas," she says. She invested $56,000 in a small herd that she believes has a better outlook than most mutual funds because of the animals' breeding potential.

The national Alpaca Registry Inc., in Lincoln, Neb., says registrations are on pace to rise 7% this year and currently stand at 140,297. Ms. Parks says a female of "medium quality" can fetch $10,000 and that prices have been rising, supporting her hopes that she'll see a profit on her alpaca portfolio in five years."

I'm interested in the idea that alpacas are seen by some as a sounder investment than stocks. I don't think I would go so far as to recommend people by alpacas as their sole investment. However, they are far cuter than most portfolios, and have a long track record of increasing the value of their herd (by reproducing).

I think it's great. I love front-page advertising.

m