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Lovable llamas remind us MSU is an ag school
With Michigan State’s history in the field of agriculture, it really should not be any surprise that there is, well, farmland on campus. Though as one of the many Spartan suburbanites, all those crops and pastures tend to make me confused and a tad uneasy (“This is part of my school??”) every time I see them. Attending Llamafest 2006 on Labor Day Weekend in the MSU Pavilion reminded me what a strong role the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources still plays in the university today. But more importantly, it answered a mysterious question that has been lingering in my mind for about three years now: Is Llamafest really what I think it is, a festival…of LLAMAS? Is this for real?! I just had to see this spectacle for myself. Llamafest is an annual, weekend-long, free
event featuring more than 250 llamas and alpacas from all over the
country. It was held
at the MSU Pavilion, right smack in the middle of some of South Campus
Farms. Though only about 15 minutes on bike from Shaw Hall, the long
white picket fences, empty roads and yellow “tractor crossing” signs
around me made it hard to believe that I was still on a college campus.
Sure enough, the first thing I saw upon arrival was men riding around
on horses in an adjacent pen. I wondered what it must be like to come
to class out there instead of some cramped room in Wells. But again…why llamas? Tom Ross of Good News Llamas in Chesapeake, Ohio, brought three animals to show at this year’s Llamafest. He and his wife Judy have 24 llamas on their small family farm and make it their mission to share the lovable animals with their community as much as possible. He is very passionate about people about his favorite animal and speaks about them excitedly. “We see it as a ministry,” Ross said. “We go to schools, church camps, 4-H camps, and nursing homes.” He also loves how raising and training llamas is an activity that any child can have fun with. “[The llama] is a very docile animal,” he said. “And they are very, very patient animals.” According to Ross, llamas are easily-trained and “very loyal.” And that whole spitting thing? Just a farce. Ross assured me not to worry about spit when I am around the llamas at the show. “When they spit, it’s a defense mechanism. They get a bad rap,” he joked. Tom explained how he would much rather have llamas on the farm than other,animal. Though the Ross family used to raise Arabian horses and white-faced camels, llamas are still the favorite. His wife and daughter, Mitzi, even spin their fiber into yarn to be knitted into sweaters and such. “Craft people like it,” he said. “It’s durable. It’s non-allergenic, because it’s got a small about of lanolin.” Lanolin is found in larger amounts in sheep’s wool. It was very apparent how much the Rosses care about fluffy friends, and they were eager to let me see them for myself. “Come on, girls!” Judy Ross said, encouraging the three large llamas to stand up, coaxing them out of the pen they were relaxing in. The largest was taller than me, and did not seem to bother too much by the interruption of her afternoon nap. I went up to pet her, but Tom wanted me to get a bit more personal, telling me to “hug it like you would your boyfriend!” I don’t have a boyfriend but I went ahead and hugged the llama anyway. It was strange. The neck was very skinny and long, but covered by lots of fluffy wool. Those llamas had bigger hair than my mom’s in the 80s! Impressive. “I have never seen any ugly llamas,” said Tom. After a photo op, I left to check out the rest of Llamafest, including the events in the arena and all of the vendors knitting and selling llama-wool items such as hats and sweaters, as well as other llama trinkets and decorations. Though I don’t think I will be raising any llamas in my apartment any time soon, it was fun to see people, like Tom, who care about these animals so much. “We felt that God gave us these animals,” More information:
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