Long Meadow Farm
About Us

One of the most interesting and exciting things we have found with alpacas is the incredibly diverse group of people that have been drawn towards these intriguing animals. We have all taken so many different paths to where we are with alpacas and each of these paths gives a unique perpsective on herd management, farm management, business plans, and our goals. Our alpaca farm is run by the full family with Doug, Amy, Rachel and Randy Tanner all actively particpating on a daily basis.

Doug's a licensed civil engineer who has specialized in bridge design and construction support as part of his full-time day job for roughly 15 years. These skills have helped him to design and build our barn in its entirety. In fact, all of our infrastructure is his doing. The barn, sheds, fences, gates, and even this website have all been planned and personally built by Doug. Doug also handles the majority of our alpaca training and shearing. He often says the most rewarding aspect of alpaca ownership is that breakthrough that occurs when an alpaca learns to trust you. Difficult to explain until you've experienced it.

You could clearly call Amy an animal lover. As a child she raised, cared for, and showed her sheep, rabbits, cats, dogs, guinea pig, mouse, and hermit crab. She also spent endless hours with her pony that she won through a 4-H essay contest at the age of 8. She wrote that she would name her "Happy" because that's how she would make her feel if she were to win. As it turns out, her pony and so many of the other animals here have been Happy to receive her care. Amy went on to earn a Bachelor's degree in Biology from the University of Delaware. With the intention of ultimately becoming a veterinarian, she worked as a veterinary technician. Then came two wonderful kids and more and more alpacas, and let's just say plans changed.

Now Amy stays home on the farm and personally cares for almost 50 "animals" - kids included. Although used in a different way than expected, her earlier experiences have been invaluable and truly life-saving for our alpacas. Amy personally handles all of our herd health. Included in this is the occasional plasma transfusion, assisting a dam with a problem birth, and working with new alpaca breeders. Recently, Amy received her State and National certifications as an Emergency Medical Technician and volunteers as a permanent member of the Greenwood Fire Company.

Rachel has taken on more and more responsibility with our alpacas as she and our herd have grown. She helps with feeding, shearing, cleaning, as well as training. Rachel is a clover bud in our local 4-H club and has helped host a club meeting at the farm where she taught her clubmates how to catch, halter and lead an alpaca. The alpacas respond very well to her and those that she has helped train tend to become our most gentle and trusting. If you look closely, you'll likely see her in the showmanship classes at many of our regional alpaca shows this coming year.

Randy, also known as Tanner, is a 6-year old bundle of endless energy. He provides the entertainment on the farm to both the people and alpacas - never a dull moment! If there is water or mud involved, he's our man. He loves hosing down the alpacas and their bellies when it is hot out. The alpacas crowd around and wait to be sprayed. At times, we're not sure who is happier - the sprayer or the sprayees. Somehow, he always seems to be both.