OFI 1407: Stabilizing Your Market By Raising Luxury Products | Jane Lavene | Jefferson Farms Natural Fibers

In today's episode I get to learn about a species of livestock that I had never heard of before, the Pacovicuna.  A Vicuna is the wild ancestor of the Llama, and they have characteristics in their fiber that just cannot be replicated by Llamas.  Jane Lavene and her husband, Arthur, raise the largest herd of Pacovicuna's in the U.S. on their farms in the Denver, Colorado and Salida, Colorado areas. In today's episode Jane teaches us about the Vicuna, the Pacovicuna and the unbelievable process of starting a herd of these animals some 27 years ago.  In addition, she discusses her fiber business and goes into great detail about he sophistication of maintaining the genetic integrity of this animal as well as selling the best and most matching fiber possible. Jane will also explain a lot about the fiber, and how it is graded and sorted.  In addition to this part of the business Jane talks about the benefit of selling into a luxury market.  The fiber and felt from a Vicuna is of such quality that it demands top dollar, and that means that it is used in luxury items.  Selling into this market creates a stable demand for Jane. And if all the information about this highly sophisticated, value added business were not enough, Jane also discusses her multiple streams of revenue approach which includes horse boarding, vacation rentals and much, much more.  Enjoy this episode! More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald: