Today we’d like to introduce you to Charisse Kushmaul.
Hi Charisse, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Growing up I always loved animals. My husband grew up having horses and we both talked about having a small farm in the future. He joined the Army right after we got married and we were stationed at Ft Hood TX. We lived down the road from a pygmy goat farm and I fell in love.
Fast forward and we had been looking for houses with land. After years of casually looking we decided to buy a house in Bath.
The plan was to go with goats and chickens but after some research we decided goats might be too rambunctious for our lifestyle so we kept looking.
My daughter and I traveled all around Michigan visiting alpaca farms. Learning how they use a community potty pile, don’t “need” or even want a lot of attention from you, they are quiet and just hum to communicate and they aren’t fence testers. They were perfect!
After having alpacas for a year I decided to go all in and buy more and make a herd. I bought breeding boys so I could have babies too. That all became very expensive and I had neighbors stopping by when I was out tending to my flowers asking to spend time with the animals. After so many visitors I realized I absolutely loved sharing my farm with others. That’s when Great Valley Longnecks started.
My first venture was starting my alpaca club. I had 2 kids and their Moms join. They came weekly and just helped with whatever I needed help with. Herd health, farm cleanup, chores etc. It was amazing. The kids started training the alpacas and we went to our first Alpacafest.
After that I ended up volunteering on the Michigan Alpacafest board, becoming the youth coordinator. My club expanded and we took over organizing and building/providing the obstacle courses for the youth classes.
My alpaca club also volunteered to teach others about alpacas and how to needlefelt.
That was so much fun so we decided we could offer the same thing at the farm. We now have free open hours on the farm in the summer, fall and holiday time.
The kids and their families volunteer and teach the public about all the animals and we have classrooms where visitors can try thru hand at their own fiber arts project!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has definitely been a struggle in all ways including financially.
Opening the farm to the public and stocking the alpaca shop was a huge expense. We still have not broke even in any of the 4 years we have been open. My goal is to break even!
Alpacas are weird. They are newer to the United States and there are very few large animal vets that have the education to treat them beyond their horse or goat knowledge. Caring for alpacas can be difficult. They are normally healthy and happy but when they get sick they get really sick. I lost 2 alpacas last year and it was horrible. Broke my heart.
As you know, we’re big fans of Great Valley Longnecks LLC. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Great Valley Longnecks is a community farm. We do very little breeding/selling of animals. My passion is community. Sharing farm life and animals to people who may or may not have the opportunity to have a hands on farm experience.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
Likes – I have a lot of community support.
Dislikes – can be difficult to get the farm name known in the community.
Pricing:
- Free but we now have suggested donation of $5 per person.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Greatvalleylongnecks.com
- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/greatvalleylongnecks
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/greatvalleylongnecks
