By Chris Aldridge

Kentucky Ag News

FRANKFORT, KY (July 9, 2024) -- When Kristianna Apodaca and Paul Perkins partnered to buy six acres of land in Nicholasville, they named it PaKman Farm, incorporating the first letters of both of their first names. But they hadn’t decided what to do with the land.

“We wanted to keep our hands in agriculture because it makes us happy,” Apodaca said. “We decided about four years ago that we wanted something with animals.”

Apodaca, a nurse who holds a pair of bachelor’s degrees in animal science and agribusiness, began researching their livestock options for a small farm.

“We went with something small that we could handle well that was fun,” she said. “That's why we went with alpacas.”

Alpacas are South American mammals in the camel family domesticated by the Incas more than 6,000 years ago. Their prized fur was reserved exclusively for the elite and nobility.

PaKman Farm acquired its first two alpacas in February 2020 from A Slice of Heaven Farm in western New York.  More than four years later, the herd numbers 25, consisting of Huacaya and Suri breeds. About 90 percent of alpacas in North America are Huacayas, who have a dense and crimped fleece that give it a very wooly appearance, like a teddy bear.

The animals are sheared once a year by a crew that travels to alpaca farms nationwide. The talented shearers leave each animal’s head with a unique look.

“Every one of them has a very different personality,” Apodaca said. “Some are very lovable. Some are just like hoity-toity, ‘Don't touch me!’”

Perkins, a retired police officer who used to raise a few cattle on the side, is the alpacas’ primary caregiver.

“To me, they’re very therapeutic,” he said. “They're just a joy to be around.

“I feed them every morning, make sure they’ve got plenty of water, clean up alpaca poop, whatever needs to be done…. It's an everyday thing.”

Apodaca, who worked in agribusiness on a large cattle farm, handles the business side of the farm, paying the bills and keeping up with the animals’ medical care.

Apodaca and Perkins hope their partnership blossoms into an agritourism destination nestled among the Nicholasville suburbs. 

“We definitely have agritourism plans for the future, not on a large scale like some of the bigger farms, but we really want to have something for our community,” Apodaca said. “Here in Jessamine County, there's not as much because we're kind of a bedroom community. “

She envisions “a place to come and relax, have fun with your children – a wholesome thing. So, we want to put a large fire pit in the back with benches to have a marshmallow roast after you come and visit with the alpacas, maybe be able to bring an alpaca into the yard with us. We have a huge front porch to sit and have tea on and relax – that's the biggest thing. We want to relax. We want to have a small playground in the back, and of course, we're going to start a shop that has products made from our fiber.”

In the meantime, PaKman Farm offers registered breeding services and alpacas for sale. It also sells alpaca fiber, in which Apodoca is a fervent believer. The natural fiber lacks lanolin, which makes it low in allergens and allows it to be processed without the need for high temperatures or harsh chemicals during washing.

“There is nothing more superior (to alpaca fiber) in my personal opinion, and I may be biased,” she said. “Alpaca fiber is the strongest natural fiber known to mankind. It is also the only hypoallergenic fiber known to mankind. It's warmer than polar bear fleece, but it's also cool, and it is naturally water resistant, flame retardant, and super soft.”

Those features make it popular to use in making socks.

“They're super cushiony,” Apodaca said of alpaca socks. “They're nice and warm, they're moisture wicking, and they last forever. They're well worth their investment because where you're buying 10 pairs of other socks, you'll buy one pair of alpaca socks.”

PaKman Farms’ fiber is made into yarn and other value-added products by a Kentucky processor. 

“We do not send anything out of state,” Adodaca added. “We keep everything here in Kentucky and support Kentucky agriculture.”