Tour provides inside look at local agriculture, farms

SANDPOINT — There are 22 natural colors of alpaca, and their long, soft hair is a valuable fiber used to make blankets, sweaters, socks, hats and more.

They have some interesting habits, such as a herd of alpacas will go to the bathroom in a communal spot. They also have a gestation period of nearly a year and rarely have more than one baby, which typically weigh around 15 pounds — alpaca adults weigh about 150 pounds.

As the owner of Aspen Alpaca Company, Mary Miller was in her element Thursday as she recited her knowledge of the animals to participants of the Bonner County Farm Tour.

"I love the animals, I love the fiber that they produce, I love the competition of showing (the animals)," Miller said.

Miller said Aspen Alpaca recently moved to its current 40-acre location on Selkirk Road about a year ago, making for a good spot not only as an addition to the farm tour, but also to serve lunch to about 80 people who, in two groups, toured four farms throughout the day. 

It was the Millers' first time hosting the tour, and Miller said it is a great opportunity for people, particularly those who do not have a farm or ranch, to experience the agriculture business.

"A lot of people aren't familiar with alpacas, so in this case it's great to get them out here to learn a little bit more about the animal, interact with them, understand what the fiber is used for and that type of thing," Miller said.

Hosted by the University of Idaho Extension-Bonner County and the Bonner County Agriculture and Forestry Committee, tour participants get an inside look at local agriculture. Other stops on Thursday's tour included Pack River Farm, Wood V Bar X Ranch, and Sandpoint Lavender Farm. Committee member Chris Elliot, who was one of the youngsters when the farm tour first began, said it started 52 years ago and has changed a lot since its inception.

The tour evolved from the UI Extension and the Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce's Grassman of the Year Award, Elliot said.

"We would go to a farm of who was being honored, and that's where we had the picnic," she said, adding the tour evolved from there. "The point was to bring the city people, the businesses, out to the rural (areas) to introduce them to other parts of the county."

The luncheon — complete with homemade pies, barbecue beef, beans and salad — serves as a scholarship fundraiser for the Bonner/Boundary County Cattlewomen's Association, who have been providing lunch for the tour since 1968. The Agriculture and Forestry Committee uses any funds that are leftover to sponsor the Bonner County Fair's "Pre-Fair," which provides agriculture and forestry education to area youth in grades K-6.

Extension educator Jennifer Jensen said a lot of retired individuals, local and from outside the area, come out for the tour each year. Some participants are farmers or home gardeners, and sometimes they "don't fall into any of those categories," she said.

"It's really just to help educate folks about the different forms of agriculture, and we try to mix in forestry as well," Jensen said. "We try to go to different areas of the county each year and, of course, different farms or ranches."

Rep. Sage Dixon has taken the farm tour for the last six years and said it is a significant event because it gives people the opportunity to see the many facets of agriculture in the county.

"All the different small businesses that we have, it's nice to introduce people to that aspect of our county — the viability of agriculture," Dixon said. "It's a driver for a small local economy, the small agribusiness, so you can have a local economy not depending on a larger economy, and that is important for us up here."

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.