Urbanization Impacts Residents Engaged in Animal Husbandry

By John Underwood, Independent Editor

This article was originally published in the February 21-22, 2007 special Progress edition of Gulf Coast Newspapers in Baldwin County, Alabama.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,

It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,

It was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity,

It was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness,

It was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair,

We had everything before us, we had nothing before us,

We were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going the other way…

--‘A Tale of Two Cities’

            By Charles Dickens

Robertsdale – This is a tale of two farms, and while the story is not as tragic as the story told in the famous Dickens novel, the stark contrast between the two tales is worth noting.

It was the worst of times….

Rosington farmer Jimmy Racine can be considered one of the lucky ones. Racine began raising cattle with his wife, Lee, (who maintains the day-to-day financial operation of the business) shortly after the couple married 43 years ago. And while Racine has no plans of folding up his tents any time soon, the rising costs, coupled with rising land prices have forced him to drastically change the way he does business.

“With the price of real estate what it is today, it’s hard to justify continuing to farm livestock,” he said. “Many farmers today are just holding on to the land as an investment.”

Part of the family business has fallen by the wayside. The Racines were part of the thriving dairy industry in Baldwin County for more than 40 years, but like the others, Racine sold his dairy cows about six years ago and opened Racine’s Feed and Garden Supply in Robertsdale – which is run by their son, Jim – to supplement his beef cows.

Indeed, the once thriving dairy industry in Baldwin County has all but disappeared. The only farm in Baldwin County that could even technically be called a dairy farm today is Down Home Farms in Elberta, which doesn’t actually sell milk, only cheese.

Racine’s operation is also different from many others in the county in that he raises feeder cattle as opposed to cow and calf pairs. Most cattle farmers in Baldwin County have breeding females. Those females have calves, the calves are raised until they can be weaned from their mothers and then sold.

Racine buys calves at about 300-400 pounds, grows them to about 700 to 800 pounds, then sells them to feed lots as “fed beef.” The Racines have also supplemented their business by selling hay from their Robertsdale feed store, mostly for horses, he said.

While it is certainly not the “worst of times” for the Racines, the cattle industry today has been in steady decline over the last 30 years and while figures from the National Agricultural Statistics show the numbers leveling off somewhat, leveling off somewhat, Racine said he feels the industry is still declining.

It was the best of times….

Then consider the story of Katy and Steve Spears of Fairhope. The couple, who are raising four young children, moved from the world of corporate America in Florida to pursue a dream of raising alpacas on their small farm, Fairhope Alpacas.

“I never dreamed that I would one day be doing this,” said Katy Spears, “but this is something that I have fallen in love with.”

While the area’s alpaca industry is still in the fledgling stages, the Spears family has carved their own niche with currently about 60 of the small furry animals roaming the grasslands behind their home.

Many of the things that have hampered the Racines are considered advantages by Katy Spears, who runs the family farm while her husband pursues a full-time career as an artist. While the lack of available land has resulted in the shrinking of the cattle industry through the years, alpacas require very little area to thrive.

Racine, who maintains about 1,000 head of cattle on his farm, said it is impossible to make a living with a small herd of cattle, saying that maintaining less than 100 head of cattle would only provide a supplemental income.

When asked what advice she would give on starting an alpaca operation, she suggested the best way would be to purchase two pregnant females. Many alpaca ranches can maintain a viable business with just 10 to 15 head, she said.

One of the main goals of the up-and-coming business has been education, Spears said. The area has recently formed the Deep South Alpaca Connection, an organization affiliated with the AOBA (Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association), which serves Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Katy Spears serves as the organization’s president.

Fairhope Alpacas maintain three education classes over the course of a year.

Getting started in the alpaca business does require an initial investment of $40,000 to $45,000 just to purchase the animals, Spears said, but the cost comes with tax advantages and financing is available.

Spears sells the fleece produced by the animals, in addition to selling young animals, known as cria. Her farm also serves as a boarding area for breeding animals, either breeding them there, or as a transfer station between farms. The Spears also enter their animals in show competitions, where they have won several awards.

“This is something that just about anybody can handle,” she said. “My favorite saying is, ‘They don’t try to kill you, and you don’t have to kill them.’”

If you would like more information about raising alpacas or would like to attend a demonstration, visit the Web site at www.fairhopealpacas.com

While there are many differences, there is one very striking similarity. “I love what I’m doing,” Racine said. “I guess I’ll have to retire someday I just haven’t come to a spot where I’m ready to do it. I guess I haven’t made up my mind to do it yet.”