Northern Colorado REALLY Loves This One Specific Farm Animal

Alpacas are weird-looking animals, there is no denying that. These peculiar farm animals kind of look like donkeys that grew up listening to emo bands like My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy.

While alpacas appear to be pretty mainstream on social media outlets and the internet, there aren't a bunch of farms that have them. Four counties in Oregon have the highest concentration among states when looked at on the county level.

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Colorado has some big love for the alpaca, too. Northern Colorado, in particular. According to the USDA National Agriculture Statistics Service, two Northern Colorado counties rank in the top 10 for the number of alpacas by county.

No other counties in the state of Colorado ranked as high. Larimer County, Colorado, ranked in eighth place with 907 alpacas, and Weld County, Colorado, ranked fifth with 963.

If you happen to love alpacas, Oregon is where it is at for you. The four counties in Oregon have a combined 7,100 alpacas. Jefferson County, Oregon, had by far the most with 3,615. Other counties in the United States with the most alpacas included Dixie County, Florida, Clark County, Washington, Worcester County, Massachusetts, and Ashtabula County, Ohio.

Why Are People Raising Alpacas in Colorado?

According to Google, alpacas are mainly raised for soft fleece. Each shearing of an alpaca produces about five to ten pounds of fleece annually per animal. The fleece from an alpaca is often compared to cashmere, which is sheared from the cashmere goat.

Since there are so many alpacas right here in our backyard in Northern Colorado, I have got to ask... Can I come and pet one? I would love to feel how soft an alpaca is.