By Tori Pfeifer
Rancho Inca
Texas is known for agriculture and ranching, but what many people don’t know is that the Brazos Valley is home to two very unique ranches. Navasota, located just 24 miles outside of Bryan College Station, is the Alpaca Capital of Texas. The city is home to two well-known alpaca ranches: Bluebonnet Hills Alpaca Ranch and Rancho Inca Alpacas.
Bluebonnet Hills Alpaca Ranch, locally owned and operated by Laurence and Donna Binder, was founded in March 1997, after a family visit to the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo.
“We initially saw llamas at the Houston Livestock Show, and we got really interested in them because it seemed like a real family farming activity,” says Laurence. “In ’97, the alpacas were there for the first time, and we actually thought they were baby llamas.”
It wasn’t until September of 1997 that the family went to upstate New York to buy their first animals, says Laurence. At the time, alpacas were relatively uncommon in Texas and Bluebonnet Hills became one of the first alpaca ranches in the state.
Bluebonnet Hills
Similarly, Rancho Inca Alpacas, co-owned and operated by Mario Garcia and Bill Beranek, was founded in May 2006, but did not officially settle in Navasota until July that same year.
“We had gone to a winery in New Mexico, and walking out of the winery we saw them across the street,” says Garcia. “When we got back, Bill started to Google alpacas in Texas and we attended a seminar in the area, and eventually one thing led to another and we moved out to the ranch.”
Both Bluebonnet Hills and Rancho Inca are run by their owners, and don’t rely on other workers or ranch hands to keep things running smoothly.
“What really goes into it is just keeping a close eye on your herd,” says Garcia. “We have to make sure none of them are losing weight or separating themselves from the herd.”
Additionally, both ranches only have one type of alpaca: the Huacaya (pronounced wah-KI-ya). These smart, social animals travel in packs, as observed by Bluebonnet Hills and Rancho Inca, so seeing any alpaca on its own lets the owners know that something is wrong.
Both of the ranches wait to sheer their animals’ fleece until April. The fibers on Huacaya alpacas is very thick, fluffy, and soft, which is what the ranches prefer so they are able to send it to spinners to make yarn.
Rancho Inca
“One of the most exciting things is seeing people get excited about the yarn that comes from the animals,” says Laurence. “Our fiber tour is March 30, and those that attend spend half the day at the ranch and then half at the yarn shop learning how to dye yarn. It’s been an extremely popular event for those that are really interested in fiber arts.”
Although Bluebonnet Hills and Rancho Inca do not offer casual ranch tours or visits, they participate in the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo where the local public can see their award-winning alpacas in show.
“We do the Houston Rodeo, an Oklahoma show called Blast-Off, and for the last two years we’ve taken them to North Carolina to compete in different environments and with different genetics because those factors lead to different fiber genetics,” says Garcia. Typically, after competing in the Rodeo in March, Rancho Inca’s alpacas don’t compete in the late spring and summer months due to the Texas heat and their shearing in April, Garcia continues.
Whether it’s breeding alpacas to compete in shows or to produce beautiful yarn from the fibers, the owners of Bluebonnet Hills and Rancho Inca love the country lifestyle that having an alpaca ranch has given them.
“I can sit in my rocking chair and look out the window and enjoy the ponds outside,” says Donna. “We used to have a little trailer and traveled to places so we could have this view on Saturday mornings drinking our coffee. When we moved out here, that’s what we got.”
For more information on Bluebonnet Hills Alpaca Ranch, visit www.bbhalpacas.com. For more information on Rancho Inca Alpacas, visit www.ranchoincaalpacas.com.
