818-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Ftbruary 24,1990
KAREN HICKS
Bradford Co. Correspondent
NORTH ROME (Bradford Co.)
Donna Thrush is a fanner.
Bom and raised on a dairy farm
near Elizabethtown, Lancaster
County, farming is in her blood.
Curt Thrush is also a farmer.
Bom and raised on a dairy farm
near Shippensburg, Curt’s heart is
with animals.
When Curt and Donna met and
married at Messiah College, farm
ing was not a viable means for
them to earn living. Curt had the
chance to purchase an insurance
agency in Towanda, Bradford
County, after graduation from
Messiah. The Thrush Agency is
now a respected company in the
area, and by all standards Curt is a
successful businessman.
But, while he operated his busi
ness, he longed for the contact
with animals he enjoyed while
Raising Uamas Brought Them Back To The Farm
growing up. So three years ago
Curt and Donna Thrush began
looking for a way to put the six
acres of land surrounding their
North Rome farmhouse to use.
Curt knew there were lots of
farmers who were diversifying
their operations. After lots of
research and reading articles on
unusual operations, he decided the
best way to team first-hand which
ventures were succeeding and
why was to call the farmers and
find out
What he found was that, of all
the farms who were branching out,
those who had llamas said, *T wish
we had more llamas.”
To find out more, they attended
llama conferences, visited farms
in Pennsylvania. Connecticut,
New Jersey and Wisconsin, and
decided to buy. The decision was
Diversifying
Operations
. . •' :!, >r w , ,*.*‘4P | fc ’■ *& ~.
Llamas are highly Intelligent, curious animals, which will investigate any newcomer to
their territory.
ll f
a little frightening, but they had
the example of Donna’s parents,
who moved to a farm in Wells
boro, Tioga County, when Donna
was a teen-ager, and began raising
daily beef. Success outside the
mainstream of farming was
possible.
They purchased three bred
females. Soon after, Winding Riv
er Llamas, named after the nearby
Susquehanna River, was bom. For
Curt and Donna, raising llamas
involves a lot of education to
answer the question most fre
quently asked by visitors to their
farm: “What are llamas used for?”
Camel Family
Llamas are members of the
camel family, with its origins in
South America. In South America,
the llama has been used primarily
as a source of wool, leather, meat,
and milk, and as a beast of burden.
THE
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The Indians of the Andes Moun
tains believe in using all parts of
the animal, much as our native
American Indians used all parts of
the buffalo and horses.
The Thrush’s have not used
their llamas for meat, leather, or
milk, but have used the wool and
the llama’s strength and ability to
carry (a mature llama can weigh
between 250 and 500 pounds) to
give rides to children '/* its
weight
As part of their education
efforts. Curt and Donna travel to
fairs, fall foliage festivals, pre
schools. and schools to teach peo
ple that llamas are well suited to
life in North America. Out West
llamas are frequently used as pack
animals on hunting and fishing
trips. At this year’s Troy Fair, one
of the prizes in the wool spinning
contest was a bag of llama wool.
STRENGTH IS IN
CONSTRUCTION
CONCRETE WORK, INC.
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courtesy of Winding River Lla
mas. The vests Curt and Donna
made from their llama wool are
“light and toasty warm,” said
Donna.
After three years in the busi
ness, Curt and Donna are very
pleased with their decision. They
raise their animals primarily for
breeding stock, a bred female will
sell for $lO,OOO and up, an
ungelded male for $2,000 and up.
They also emphasize that llamas
are ideally suited for pets, and will
sell a gelded male for about
$l,OOO.
In Its Infancy
The llama industry is still in its
infancy. The demand is high and
the supply is still very limited. For
Donna, “the babies are one of the
most exciting parts of the busi
ness. It lakes about l-l'/i months
(Turn to Pago B 20) ft
.A