RED DEER – After 14 years promoting llamas and alpacas, the Legacy Classic sale still knows how to draw a crowd.
More than 500 people turned out for the annual Red Deer sale staged by Warren and Allan Fertig.
This year’ s llama sale offered 31 lots with an average price of $4,900. The alpaca sale had 39 lots of mostly young females. It averaged $5,440.
Suri-type animals attracted the greatest interest. Suri is a rare type of alpaca with long, lustrous, flowing fibre tendrils instead of the conventional fluffy, crimped wool variety.
Read Also
Canfax cattle market report – July 31, 2025
Read the Canfax cattle market report – July 31, 2025. Latest on fed & feeder cattle prices, butcher cow trends, and cutout market insights in Western Canada.
The top selling llama was a suri-type female descended from full Bolivian stock. The yearling female was consigned by Rick and Laura Avdich of Summerland, B.C., and sold for $15,000.
The Avdichs also had the top selling alpaca at $15,000. The yearling male was also of Bolivian stock.
The Avdichs brought two llamas and two alpacas to the sale, which earned them $42,250.
Warren Fertig is optimistic about the industry, particularly with more fibre mills coming on stream that are capable of producing a variety of fibre products.
“Once you have an end use, it is comforting,” he said.
“The fibre is generating excitement.”
Companies like Canadian Fine Fibre Works Ltd. at Peers, Alta., are able to produce everything from quilt batting, yarn, felt and fabric.
As well, overall quality has improved. Older breeding animals have been retired and replaced with llamas and alpacas that grow high quality fibre. Further, animals unsuitable for breeding stock have been removed from the herd, but can continue to produce good quality fibre.
