Does every farm need to have biosecurity measures?

Does every farm need to have biosecurity measures?

That’s a YES, 100%.

A biosecurity plan for your farm is essential. You should practice some measures now, but this will only prepare you to the extent that it's effective if everyone can understand and use these tools properly.

We will discuss our bio-security measures at our workshop and how we manage it at Little Valley Farm with our livestock.

Jump on our waitlist for our February and March 2022 workshops.

$159 per adult and $39 for children.

We do run adult-only workshops the first week of the month (subject to change) and then the last week of the month, adults and children.

Our workshops are kept small and are held outside on the paddocks to be Covid safe. Small groups of 6 people means we get to know everybody and learn and question time is maximised. The workshop includes our alpaca guidebook for you to take home.

We have been working with alpacas for ten years now and would love to be part of your alpaca journey.

If you are on Facebook this is a video we were asked to do by Hunter Local Land Service a couple of years ago. Watch here.

Jump on our Little Valley website to read more.

Dates coming up:

Sunday 13th February at 10:30 am - adults only

Sunday 27th February 10:30 am - adults and kids.

Sunday 6th March 10:30 am - adults only

Limited spots so book early and do send me an email should you have any questions.

We love what we do and want to share it with you.

Contact Daniela here.

Also, don’t forget to jump on our LVF mailing list for special events, updates and previews. We don’t spam as we prefer to be outside working with the alpacas - its much more fun!

Do platypus live in our creek? How many wild dogs are roaming the hilltops?

With the help of Hunter Region Landcare Network, Wollombi Valley Landcare, and Local Land Service, we’ve set up a few motion-sensitive cameras in critical locations around our bushland and creek-line.

We aim to monitor and track wild dog, feral pig, feral cats, and feral goat activity and hope to monitor platypus activity.

This year we have noticed an increase in dog visits and several native animal carcasses have been left on our paddocks including wallaroos and a wombat. The most recent attack was a wombat found early on a Monday morning following an alert from the Alpacas. He had been badly mauled by a Dog so we took him to Cedar Creek Wombat Hospital for treatment. He survived thanks to the great work at the Hospital.

We have never seen the elusive platypus in our creek but know they were there once here. The good news is that they were spotted two kilometres down the creek last week and they are known to live further up Watagan Creek.

Over the next thirty days, the infrared cameras will hopefully pick up some activity. The programme is managed by HRLN and LLS and is accessible to Wollombi Valley Landcare owners. If you wish to get involved please drop an email to Victoria from Hunter Region Landcare Network on the email ~ lowerhunterlandcare @ gmail.com

Alpaca workshops in the Hunter Valley

Alpacas are fascinating animals, but they require special management. Join us for our unique alpaca workshop that is perfect for people living on small farms or acreage. A great introduction to see if alpacas are the right fit for your farm.

Date available:

Sunday 10:30 am November 14th - Now booked out.

Sunday 10:30 am November 21st - Booked out. *

Saturday 10:30 am December 4th - Booked out. *

• email us to be added to our waitlist

Click on the photo below to book.

Book online click here.

Why Miniature Donkeys?

Miniature Donkeys are a recent addition to the farm. They are cute, fun, highly inquisitive and just a bit silly. So why not have them! However, the main role of these little beauties is to help us in the application of a ‘regenerative system’ to manage the farm.

Alpacas are excellent small farm or acreage animals. But as the herd grows potential issues with animal health and pasture management becomes more problematic. When we started our journey on the farm we always had multi animals on the paddocks; free-range chickens, low line Angus and Belted Galloway Miniature cattle and even some Dorper sheep. Each had their issues and advantages.

Free Range Chickens; there is nothing better than real free range eggs and when chickens roam you really get to know their wonderful personalities. They were great at breaking down manure on the paddocks, especially older manure the dung beetles didn’t get to. But Chickens are excavating machines, we lost gardens, grassy areas and spent large amounts of time keeping them out of vegetable patches.

Sheep; we never really bonded with the sheep. If you eat meat they have an advantage, but our lush summer rainfall meant constant problems for their feet. They also leave manure everywhere which was ignored by chickens and dung beetles and an additional worm-risk when running alpaca. They also require different fencing, usually 6 plain wires with a low electric strand, which we did not have. It took a year but they figured that out and soon ate every edible tree they could find. They did not lost long.

Miniature Cattle; we loved having the cows, and even loved our temperamental and destructive lowline bull. We produced some wonderful calves and even experimented with on-farm butchering (with some purchased steers). Once you get to know cows well, you soon turn off meat-eating and just love being around them. Cattle manure is easily spread and the dung beetles did a beautiful job putting nutrients into the ground. In 2019 feed costs skyrocketed, and a small farm like ours with a heavy winter frost and very little winter rain does not stock cattle so easily. In good years we were fine, but bad years made it unsustainable.

We sold all our cattle in 2019 and have had a much larger Alpaca herd even since. But a single breed of animal has its own issues.

Alpacas have some incredible advantages, they are gentle on the land with soft feet, they eat comparatively little for their size, they have a couple of limited manure piles, they don’t break fences, are easy to handle with lower infrastructure costs and they are selective grazers who are gentle on the pasture. But from a regenerative process pov many of these advantages are disadvantages. Eventually the pasture has highly productive areas around the manure piles and very little nutrients is put back into the other areas. They also prefer shorter grass and when our summer grass gets to knee high they will often avoid it and over graze other areas. In a short time we noticed they were forced to eat closer manure piles and in March 2021 we had our first ever problems with intestinal worms.

The system we ran with the cattle and alpaca was perfect to help control worms and manage feed and pasture fertilisation with limited mechanical intervention. Bovines and Equines actually help break the worm cycle for the Alpaca. They also ate grass and hay the Alaca would not eat, and we ‘harrowed’ their manure, or it was spread out by dung beetles and chickens, returning nutrients more evenly to. the pasture. We did not strip graze, but we were able to use 22 acres split into 13 small paddocks very effectively for rotational grazing.

So why Miniature Donkeys? in short they will help us for the same reasons as the cattle, but with a few other advantages: they are wonderful with people, they are small (150kg vs a 300kg cow), and they have great personalities. In the end they are the next evolution of finding and perfecting a sustainable system on the farm. They are not the only part, our planting system is also key - but that’s for another post!

Dates for next alpaca workshop for new owners

Our alpaca workshop is an intensive couple of hours introducing you to the benefits and management including animal welfare and general information about wanting to start up your own herd or run a couple of alpacas on your new or future hobby farm.

Jump on our website for full workshop info including costs.

Workshops are kept small due to COVID29 safety precautions. The following dates are pending lockdown restrictions. If you require accommodation for adults only, let us know, and we will check availability for our glamping accommodation.

• Sunday 26th September, 10th October, 17th October, 17th November & 5th December 2021.

Little Valley Farm is located in Laguna and is only ten minutes from Wollombi Village and 40 minutes from Cessnock. We are not open to the public for feeding, and all visitors to the farm require an appointment due to our strict biosecurity policies. Also, please do not bring your dogs to our farm to protect our alpacas and our native wildlife.

We have been working with alpacas since 2012 and breed Huacaya and Suri alpacas. We use and process the fleece from our alpacas into yarn and garments.

We are not the biggest breeder of alpacas but are the breeder with the biggest heart. We love what we do and hope to share it with you.

Alpaca Transportation Service

Our compartmental alpaca float can move up to six (adult-sized) alpacas within the Hunter & Central Coast area.

Talk to us for more info and price based on pick up and delivery location and the number of alpacas.

Please only enquire about A L P A C A S. As we don’t move any other animals.

Please ensure paperwork and livestock movement certificate is all in order before pick up. No documents. No pickup.

We are alpaca breeders based in the Hunter Valley and have worked with many small farms and hobby farms over the years. So if you have any questions please feel free to drop us a line. Thank you

Hunter Valley Alpaca Farm Workshops

We are getting busy just like the crazy Guinea Fowl! They can fill up an entire day just simply running up and down the farm.

Sunday, July 11th is our next alpaca workshop for new alpaca owners. A great way to find out if alpacas are suitable for your farm or acreage.

Workshop dates: July 11th or August 8th.
Limited places so
Jump on our website for full workshop info and prices.

www.littlevalleyfarm.com.au/shop/alpacatraining

Little Valley Farm Laguna in the Hunter Valley under two hours from Sydney.

Every Bit Counts Local Land Service featuring Little Valley Farm

Proud to be part of the Hunter Local Land Services - Every Bit Counts programme. A bit of a passion project for me,...

Posted by Little Valley Farm - Alpaca Farm on Sunday, February 14, 2021

Owning a few Alpacas and enjoying the serenity of your lush green pasture is the dream for some landholders.

Daniela Riccio and Euan Wilcox from Little Valley Farm in the Hunter Valley are living that dream.

It's been a big lifestyle change adjusting to life on the land, and Daniela understands the importance of reaching out for help.

Every Bit Counts is a program for small landholders looking to connect to hundreds of like-minded people trying to improve their land, production capacity and environment.

Visit our brand new Every Bit Counts website, to find resources designed especially for you: www.lls.nsw.gov.au/ebc

Sign up to our Small Landholder Network, and keep up to date with upcoming events and issues: https://hunterlls.wufoo.com/.../every-bit-counts-small...

Register for our Blockies’ Bootcamp, kickstart your land management know how: https://www.lls.nsw.gov.au/.../every.../blockies-bootcamp

And enjoy these beautiful animals!!

Alpaca Workshop and Training

Due to a cancellation, we have one spot available at our Alpaca workshop Sunday 7th February from 10:30am.

The following workshop date is now Sunday 14th March.

Read more about our workshops for small farms or acreage.

https://www.littlevalleyfarm.com.au/online-products

Photo credit: Miss Majestic the alpaca also known as the photo-bomber!

Alpaca Workshop and Training for small farms & acreage

Our February workshops are fully booked but we do have four places available for March 14th.

Alpacas are fascinating animals, but they require special management. Join us for our unique alpaca workshop that is perfect for people living on small farms or acreage. A great introduction to see if alpacas are the right fit for your farm.

Read more here

https://www.facebook.com/events/891064741422986

Little Valley Farm ~ Alpaca Workshop and Training for small farms & acreage in the Hunter Valley

If you are heading to the Hunter Valley and require accommodation let us know as we have a list of places to stay that are close by in Laguna, Wollombi and Cessnock (near the vineyards) so you may as well make a weekend out of it).

Baby Piaf at Little Valley Farm

Baby Piaf strikes a pose!

You get to meet this little beauty when you book your exclusive farm stay with us or book in for an alpaca workshop.

Learn more about these majestic creatures before you venture into your own alpaca journey.

Workshops for small farms and acreage

www.littlevalleyfarm.com.au/online-products/alpacatraining

Alpacas are fascinating animals, but they require special management. Join us for our unique alpaca workshop that is perfect for people living on small farms or acreage. A great introduction to see if alpacas are the right fit for your farm.

Photo credit Little Valley Farm ⓒ

Alpaca breeder in the Lower Hunter Valley

No rain today and we are pretty happy. It's kinda soggy out there on some of the paddocks.

Snowy and Panna keeping me in good company today. The rest of the girls are chilling under the amber trees.

Alpaca workshops for 2021 now available. Jump on our website for more details.

Alpaca workshops in the Hunter Valley

What a beautiful way to end our week!

Another wonderful alpaca workshop with our fabulous alpacas and wonderful guests. We had such a great time hosting everyone and talking alpacas.

We ended the workshop with a sitdown grazing platter from @Lagunavillageprovidore and a cool down affogato caffee. My fav coffee with ice cream on a hot summers day.

January workshops are fully booked and our next one is scheduled for February 7th.

Discover more on our alpaca workshops in the Hunter Valley here.

Alpaca Sales and Workshops in the Wollombi Valley

Alpacas are fascinating animals, but they require special management. Join Daniela at Little Valley Farm for their unique and hands-on workshop that is perfect for people living on small farms or acerage and that are thinking of having alpacas as pets.

You will also be given a copy of the AgGuide - Farming Alpacas book to take home.

A basic guide to some of the skills and practices of alpaca production. This guide covers information on alpaca production including health, breeding and farming, nutritional needs and breeding to improve fleece.

Book in now for Sept and October 2020 dates in the Hunter Valley.

Click here for workshop info.