‘Fleecing’ America at Kocher Farms   July 23, 2008 – Tyler Star News     On a drive out state Route 18 just four miles outside of Sistersville one might see an usual sight. Are those llamas in that field? No, they are alpacas, some of forty owned by Kocher Farms on Greenwood Road. Alpacas are smaller than llamas and are highly prized for their fleece. They are native to the Andes Mountains in Peru, Chili and other South American countries, but are adjusting well to their surroundings in Tyler County. There are 38 registered alpaca farms in West Virginia. Kocher Farms, LLC also raises alpacas on a farm in Ritchie County. As far as they know, they are the only fiber processing mill currently operating in West Virginia. People from all over the state as well as other states send their fleece to Kocher’s mill for processing. Charles and Charlotte Kocher began alpaca farming about two years ago. At the time their sons, B.J. and Chip, were working in Dalton, Ga. at a Mohawk plant producing synthetics. They both longed to raise their children where they were raised and began thinking about processing the fleece from their parent’s alpacas. After researching the natural fiber industry, the Kocher boys found the equipment they needed at Belfast Mini Mills in Prince Edwards Island, Canada. They designed the building for the mill and began construction in December 2007. Alpaca products are lightweight yet durable, very soft and warm. There are around 22 natural colors of Alpaca fleece with many variations of those tones. Customers can order single-, two- or three-ply yarn; rovings, which are fibers processed for hand spinning; and felt, treated and compressed fibers used for clothing, hats, slippers, or insulating layers. Also available are batts, a pre-felt product often used in quilts. A tour of the Kocher fiber mill will walk visitors through the process from raw fleece to finished fiber. First the fleece is washed in a specialize washing machine that has three sections for different fleeces and a slow spinning method rather than agitation. Then the fleece is spread out on racks in a separate building where it dries for 12 hours. The denser fleece, known as suri, takes longer to dry than the more common huacaya. Suri is also more valuable and has a sheen to it. It is the kind that looks like dreadlocks on the animal. Next the fleece is taken to the picker machine. At each stage of the process the fiber is precisely weighed and recorded. The picker separates the fibers and blows them into a small room looking like clouds filling the space. The fiber is then treated with a special solution to rid it of static. In the next stage the fibers are spread out on a wide belt in batches of three-foot lengths on the carder machine. Here they go through seven wheels of pins that line up the fibers and draw them out into a roving 22 yards long for each batch. This is similar to the tedious process of hand carding fibers for spinning. The rovings are taken to the draw frame. Here two strands of roving are drawn into one longer and stronger roving. Fifty-five yards of this roving is gathered in a cylinder and taken to the spinner machine where it is spun into 400 yards of single-ply yarn. Another machine plies two or three strands together by spinning in the opposite direction. Finally the yarn is heat-set by threading it through a device that steams the fiber at 230 degrees Celsius. This process relaxes the yarn and sets the twist so it does not unravel when used for kitting, crocheting or other applications. The Kocher brothers assure their customers that the yarn they ship out is from their own animals’ fleece, even to the specific animal by name, if so desired. There is very little waste - even the fibers that are cleaned out of the machines can yield usable products. The Kochers keep their prices below market price and their quality high. They plan to open their retail store in a few weeks. Any groups or customers wishing to tour the mill should call 652-1044 to make arrangements. For information and pricing go to http://www.allalpacafibermill.com.      Back to more alpaca articles