SILVER STAR — On a farm located just outside of Whitehall, near Silver Star, Montana, you can meet fuzzy creatures that look like Ewoks or mythical beings.
Throughout the summer you can fall asleep under the stars to the gentle humming of the alpaca, but this weekend they are having a birthday party of sorts. It's baby season, so there's double the cuteness. If you're lucky you might just get to name a baby alpaca.
"When we purchased this place in 2019 and moved here, we wanted to share the beauty of what we have and so we opened up our ranch to do what we call agritourism," says Karen Ball. She co-owns Heart & Soul Alpacas and Guest Cabins with her husband, Russell Ratti.
Agritourism is a relatively new concept for Montana’s farm and ranch communities. According to the Montana Department of Agriculture, agritourism opens commercial agriculture endeavors to visitors for the purpose of entertainment or education.
In 2017, the Montana Legislature passed a bill adding agritourism to the list of Montana Recreational Activities in which participants assume liability for the risk involved with the activity. But the only risk you face on this alpaca farm is experiencing some serious relaxation.
"We just love the animals. The gentleness of them, they have this humming sound that is very calming so you can just sit out there and with some grain, bring your tea out there and just sit with them and they’re just very calming and very relaxing," says Russell Ratti.
Russell and Karen have been raising and breeding alpacas for about 20 years. Their Suri and Huacaya alpacas are recognized in nationwide competitions and have garnered numerous awards.
"Our huacaya focus and passion is impeccable fiber in gray. Our suri focus and passion is fineness, handle, and luster in light colors. Our goal is that with each generation we are improving in the traits we breed for, solid conformation, soft handling uniform fiber, and lasting fineness," states a description on the farm's website.
Currently, the farm hosts about 150 alpacas. Some are owned by Karen and Russell while others are boarded for clients from across the nation.
Karen says she loves to share the magic of their little corner of the world with their community and even with visitors from outside of Montana. It's baby season on the farm and this weekend they are hosting their annual Alpaca Baby Affair, one of three events that allow people to feed and hang out with the gentle creatures.
"We raise them for their fiber. So, everything about them is about their fiber and what it can create. There’s lots of different products that an alpaca can make and babies are a huge part of what we do. Probably the most fun part and so we wanted to share that," says Karen Ball.
The Alpaca Baby Affair eventis a kid-friendly community event with face painting, bounce houses, and even a baby naming contest. The event takes place at 25 Bench Road on Aug. 3 from 11 a.m to 4 p.m. and is free—but bring some money to purchase grain and feed the animals.
The Alpaca Baby Affair is one of three events hosted at the farm throughout the year, including a fall event and a Christmas event. The farm also has a store full of alpaca products, some of which are made with the fiber from animals on the farm.
