OUR STORY

Alpenwood Alpacas Farm resides in the beautiful rolling hills of Southern Minnesota, on a piece of land that famously used to be wide open cornfields. Hans Trechsel, a Swiss native who moved to the area over 50 years ago planted hundreds of trees on this land. These trees stand strong and proud to this day. His dream was to recreate the Alpine woodlands he so loved as a young boy, for himself and for his family and community to enjoy. His daughter, Laurie Trechsel, established Alpenwood Alpacas Farm to honor the legacy of this place, its people and all of its creation great and small.

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In 2009 Laurie returned to the family farm in Rockford Minnesota and realized she had the opportunity to use her family's land for something unique. Alpacas were an opportunity to use her knowledge and skill as a zookeeper.

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She started her adventure with alpacas with the purchase of three fiber boys.  Like so many others interested in the alpaca, she attended many Alpaca shows, lectures and workshops prior to her first purchase. Laurie found a wonderful community of alpaca owners ready and willing to mentor her and expand her knowledge of the breed.

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In 2010 she purchased her first bred female and the next year she was in the alpaca breeding business.  Over time she has carefully selected breeding stock and herd sires with the intention to slowly and deliberately increase her herd and improve their genetics with each generation.  In 2015 this came to fruition when two of the Alpenwood alpacas born on the farm were listed in the top 1% in the country for fiber fineness and length of fiber. Two characteristics sought after in the alpaca industry.

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Interested in learning more about the Alpaca business from an experienced owner? Fill out the Contact Form and Laurie will be glad to continue the tradition of passing on knowledge to the next generation of alpaca owners.