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Kocher Farms LLC…the alpaca farm…
Our farm,
along with many others, has an interesting story of its creation. It may not be
the most dramatic of all the stories and that is ok. Kocher Farms LLC started as
a simple dream and grew, quite quickly I must say, into a wondrous entity. Our
story starts in a few small towns all over the USA. A dream was conceived in
Burkburnett (first small town) Texas by Joe Morris to start an alpaca farm and
leave active duty military for a more peaceful life (after two tours in Iraq, he
was searching for peace). This alpaca farm dream was shared first with his wife
Lindsay, and after quite a bit of talking and number crunching, they realized
they would be hard pressed to leave the military especially with three children.
The dream
was put on the back burner, as often happens, until Joe shared his dream with
his mother Charlotte Kocher. They talked on the phone for quite a while about
it, and the conversation ended with, “Joe, you’re young; follow your dreams.”
More time went by and Joe and Lindsay talked almost constantly about this dream.
After a lot of prayer, Joe and Lindsay dove in and bought five alpacas. Joe went
home to St. Marys (next small town) West Virginia, and picked up their alpacas
and moved them into a newly constructed barn built by Joe and his Dad, Frank
Morris. As soon as Charlotte and Charlie Kocher saw the alpacas they fell in
love!
Thus it
begins…Kocher Farms LLC was conceived with Charlie and Charlotte as the owners.
Charlie decided that he wanted to process the fleece and he had two sons that
would be perfect for the job; but they both lived in Dalton (third small town)
Georgia and worked for Mohawk carpet. Charlie contacted BJ and Chip Kocher, his
sons, and asked them if they thought alpaca fiber was a good investment. BJ and
Chip researched the processing and thought it looked great. Amazingly, they both
stepped out in faith and moved home with their families and broke ground on the
fleece mill in November 2007. Joe and Lindsay also took a big step in November
07 and separated from the military to join in the family business. Joe would be
the farm manager and Chip and BJ would run the fleece mill. One simple dream
brought an entire family back together (including step parents, divorced
parents, children and step children) and in the process created ties that will
bind forever. Because of the business Charlie has been able to fight off
prostate cancer, and many other health problems…because he has a reason to live;
to care for and love his alpacas and watch his grandchildren grow up in such a
wonderful environment! This is the short version of our story (believe it or
not) and we are so thankful for all of God’s blessings. God is good, all the
time.
Media Coverage of
Kocher Farms, LLC
In the news...
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Wednesday, July 23, 2008
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— Time:
10:46:52 AM EST
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ALPACAS THRIVING IN TYLER
COUNTY — Alpaca farms are springing up around West Virginia.
Native to South America,alpacas can fetch thousands of
dollars, even up to six figures, at auction depending on the
quality of their fleece. There are about 40 alpacas on
Kocher Farms.
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On a drive out state Route 18 just four miles
outside of Sistersville one might see an usual sight. Are those
llamas in that field? No, they are alpacas, some of forty owned by
Kocher Farms on Greenwood Road.
Alpacas are smaller than llamas and are highly prized for their
fleece. They are native to the Andes Mountains in Peru, Chili and
other South American countries, but are adjusting well to their
surroundings in Tyler County. There are 38 registered alpaca farms
in West Virginia. Kocher Farms, LLC also raises alpacas on a farm in
Ritchie County. As far as they know, they are the only fiber
processing mill currently operating in West Virginia. People from
all over the state as well as other states send their fleece to
Kocher’s mill for processing.
Charles and Charlotte Kocher began alpaca farming about two years
ago. At the time their sons, B.J. and Chip, were working in Dalton,
Ga. at a Mohawk plant producing synthetics. They both longed to
raise their children where they were raised and began thinking about
processing the fleece from their parent’s alpacas.
After researching the natural fiber industry, the Kocher boys found
the equipment they needed at Belfast Mini Mills in Prince Edwards
Island, Canada. They designed the building for the mill and began
construction in December 2007.
Alpaca products are lightweight yet durable, very soft and warm.
There are around 22 natural colors of Alpaca fleece with many
variations of those tones. Customers can order single-, two- or
three-ply yarn; rovings, which are fibers processed for hand
spinning; and felt, treated and compressed fibers used for clothing,
hats, slippers, or insulating layers. Also available are batts, a
pre-felt product often used in quilts.
A tour of the Kocher fiber mill will walk visitors through the
process from raw fleece to finished fiber. First the fleece is
washed in a specialize washing machine that has three sections for
different fleeces and a slow spinning method rather than agitation.
Then the fleece is spread out on racks in a separate building where
it dries for 12 hours. The denser fleece, known as suri, takes
longer to dry than the more common huacaya. Suri is also more
valuable and has a sheen to it. It is the kind that looks like
dreadlocks on the animal.
Next the fleece is taken to the picker machine. At each stage of the
process the fiber is precisely weighed and recorded. The picker
separates the fibers and blows them into a small room looking like
clouds filling the space. The fiber is then treated with a special
solution to rid it of static.
In the next stage the fibers are spread out on a wide belt in
batches of three-foot lengths on the carder machine. Here they go
through seven wheels of pins that line up the fibers and draw them
out into a roving 22 yards long for each batch. This is similar to
the tedious process of hand carding fibers for spinning.
The rovings are taken to the draw frame. Here two strands of roving
are drawn into one longer and stronger roving. Fifty-five yards of
this roving is gathered in a cylinder and taken to the spinner
machine where it is spun into 400 yards of single-ply yarn. Another
machine plies two or three strands together by spinning in the
opposite direction.
Finally the yarn is heat-set by threading it through a device that
steams
the fiber at 230 degrees Celsius. This process relaxes the yarn and
sets the twist so it does not unravel when used for kitting,
crocheting or other applications.
The Kocher brothers assure their customers that the yarn they ship
out is from their own animals’ fleece, even to the specific animal
by name, if so desired. There is very little waste - even the fibers
that are cleaned out of the machines can yield usable products.
The Kochers keep their prices below market price and their quality
high. They plan to open their retail store in a few weeks. Any
groups or customers wishing to tour the mill should call
652-1044 to make arrangements. For information and pricing go to
AllAlpacaFiberMill.com
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