Moving From the Suburbs and Starting Cotton Creek Farms
When we decided to give up the suburbs and move north to the farm in 2015, some friends and family referred to it as a mid-life crisis. Our financial advisor Nancy called it living the dream. We refer to it as Life 2.0. Looking back, it was the best decision we could have made for our family and we're so thankful we took this leap of faith.
After living in the Detroit area for two decades, we said goodbye to high-stress jobs, long commutes, and way too busy schedules. In 2018 we officially moved into our Thompsonville, Michigan alpaca farm and began living a quieter life filled with open land, sunset views, and a herd full of alpaca love and goodness.
Today our farm has turned into a full business with 50+ alpacas and our rescued llama Lucy. We are active breeders of alpacas, we host interactive tours for local families and visitors, we have an on-site farm store and a large online store, we produce USA made alpaca products, and we do everything we can to give back to the community in which we live.
We're members of the national Alpaca Owners Association (AOA), Jason serves as the treasurer on the AOA's Board of Directors, and Rebecca is active in AOA's internal committees. Our farm is listed as an AOA Mentor Farm For Youth and we've served as board members for the Alpaca Association of Michigan. We also operate a 4-H club called Farm and Fleece through the Northwest Michigan 4-H Livestock Council.
Why Raise Alpacas?
Everyone who visits our active farm and store asks how we decided on raising alpacas. And while we can't remember how we started talking about camelids, we can tell you we knew at our core that an alpaca farm was the right decision.
A random stop at an alpaca farm was all it took for us to fall in love with these animals and know they were an important part of our Life 2.0 adventure.
Alpacas are social creatures who are smart, curious, and highly trainable. Once you build their trust, they love humans and eagerly seek attention. And what is probably more important, alpaca create amazing fiber that is eco-friendly, hypoallergenic, as soft as cashmere, and three times warmer than sheep's wool.
Who wouldn't fall in love with these magical creatures?
Our Objectives in Farming
- Maintain a healthy herd based on sound livestock management
- Establish a loving and nurturing environment for our alpacas (to us they are family and not livestock)
- Create a breeding program that consistently improves the quality of our alpaca fleece quality, confirmation, and personality
- Produce high-quality fiber that can be used to make sustainable, USA made alpaca products
- Contribute to the alpaca industry within Michigan and the United States
- Carefully match prospective alpaca owners to the right animals so their business objectives and goals are obtained
- Offer mentoring services that support new and existing alpaca farms
- Educate the public on the magic of alpacas
- Create fun, family-friendly events through agritourism
- Give back to the local community through events and 4-H involvement
Services We Offer
We provide full-service support and services for new alpaca owners and the community in which we live.
- 4-H group called Farm and Fleece
- Alpaca feed production and sales
- Alpaca sales
- Boarding and agistment services
- Breeding services
- Alpaca color genotype testing and analysis
- New farm education, mentoring, and support
- Paca parties
- Photoshoots
- Interactive tours and private alpaca tours
- Rentals for alpaca themed weddings and events
- School fields trips
- Transportation
Learn More About Our Farm
- Read our origin story
- View directions to the farm
- Get answers to commonly asked questions about our farm and alpacas
- Meet our alpaca herd
- Get a sneak-peek into our onsite farm store
- View awesome products in our online alpaca store
- View our events calendar
- Visit offsite press and media mentions
- Learn more about alpacas and the industry in our blog
- Learn how to contact us
- Stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, or Google
