We are Tom and Janice Buttitta, owners of Desert Mountain Alpaca Ranch. The ranch is located on four acres in Hereford, Arizona. We started the ranch in 2004 and we are loving every minute of it.
Tom is a Manufacturing Engineer for a window blind manufacturer for over 25 years. Originally from New Jersey, he has relocated with the company a couple of times. The last move was in the summer of 2003 where he and I left Jamestown, North Carolina to the beautiful desert of Arizona.
I am a Supply Chain Manager for an evaporative cooler manufacturer. I have been working with the company for a little over two years now. I work in Mexico and speak Spanish fluently. Originally I am from Long Island, New York.
Although we both are successful in our fields we felt something was missing. We have a small amount of land, but surely it could be used for some sort of livestock business. I toyed with the idea of opening a dog kennel, but Tom did not think it was a good match for us. Then one day I saw an ad on the television talking about alpacas. I jumped on the website and read about them. They sounded perfect for us. They do not need a lot of space, so my four acres was more than adequate. Not to mention that they are low maintenance. We could definitely keep our careers and work on growing our alpaca business at the same time. Shortly after I got Tom to read about them too and the alpacas sparked an interest. A couple of weeks later we were on our way to a fair to see the animals and meet the owners. We were hooked and jumped on the fast track.
To learn about alpacas quickly we took five seminars and participated in three shows. In December of 2004 we bought our first two pregnant females. Currently we have nine females and seven males with crias on the way.
The mission of Desert Mountain Alpaca Ranch, LLC is to breed and market healthy, high quality alpacas that will ensure the growth and improvement of the North American alpaca industry. In pursuit of our mission, it is our intention to supply superior fiber for use in the manufacture of products while marketing these products to the environmentally conscious consumer.
As we continue to grow we strive to learn more about the alpacas and the overall industry. Quality and customer satisfaction is what our business is all about. With this said we plan to educate consumers and new breeders with the importance of this livestock.
Just like any business the alpaca business requires time and commitment. However, unlike most other businesses the rewards of caring for these beautiful animals is priceless. My husband and I cannot seem to keep our fingers out of their soft, lustrous fiber and they take a piece of our heart with every paca kiss they give.