Kansas Is Home to Unique Livestock
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Kansas growers experiment with unique livestock from alpacas and rabbits to Japanese cattle.
Some people find themselves susceptible to buying an unnecessary food processor or miniature fishing rod from a late-night infomercial. Brian and Sharon Heimes came away with a bunch of alpacas.
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It wasn’t quite that impulsive of a decision, Sharon Heimes clarifies. In 2000, the two physicians had been looking to move from Lenexa to somewhere more rural and were debating which animals to raise on their property.
Alpacas Were the Answer
“After seeing an advertisement, we journeyed up to Oregon, stayed on an alpaca farm for a weekend, and just fell in love,” Heimes says.
The couple spent several years visiting other farms with the fluffy South American beasts before buying their first alpacas in 2009. The Heimeses now keep a herd of about 30 at Manna Meadows outside Bonner Springs to harvest their fiber, breed animals for other growers and welcome visitors through farm tours.
In some cases, Heimes adds, the alpacas hit the road. People have rented the animals as guests for a retirement party, baby shower and over a dozen wedding receptions. One named Will even served as a llama stand-in at a screening of the cult comedy Napoleon Dynamite.
The Heimeses and their alpacas are part of what’s called the “specialty livestock” market in Kansas, which is essentially all animals besides swine and cattle. It’s a modest portion of the state’s overall agricultural scene. A 2020 report for the Kansas Department of Agriculture estimated the economic impact of specialty livestock at about $25 million, while the cattle industry brought in over $8.3 billion during the same year.
But there’s increasing interest in specialty operations, particularly among smaller-scale farmers. Their work helps Kansas agriculture provide a more diverse array of offerings.
Fun With Fiber
That diversity continues at Little Hawk Farm west of Baldwin City. Owned by Ruth Hawkins, the operation raises Pygora goats, French Angora rabbits and Bluefaced Leicester sheep, all producing high-quality fiber.
The bulk of her business comes from the Pygoras, which grow a super-soft fleece that Hawkins has had certified as cashmere quality. Hawkins sells most of the product as fleeces or yarn, but she also crafts her own clothing as examples for customers.
“My chore hat and scarf are nothing fancy, but they are incredibly warm, made from 100% hand-spun Pygora cashmere from some of my favorite goats,” Hawkins says of her favorite items. “The hat and scarf keep me warm on the cold days while out doing chores.”
Hawkins also breeds and sells animals. She was the first certified Pygora breeder in Kansas and serves on the boards of the Pygora Breeders Association and Bluefaced Leicester Union. She’s seen growing curiosity about both breeds across the Midwest and mentors farmers working to establish fiber flocks.
Wild About Wagyu
Even within the dominant livestock category of cattle, there’s room for growers doing things differently. Booth Creek Wagyu located north of Manhattan raises the eponymous breed of Japanese origin on about 2,000 acres.
Wagyu (pronounced waa·gyoo) take about twice as long to reach a comparable weight as popular American breeds like Angus, says Tyler Dreiling, the son of Booth Creek Wagyu founder Dave Dreiling. That time commitment has led many ranchers to stay away from investing in the breed as Wagyu make up less than 1% of the U.S. cattle population.
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The results, however, are worth the wait. The deeply marbled meat cooks up rich and buttery and is exceptionally filling.
Get the recipe: Grilled Bourbon and Brown Sugar Flank Steak
“I weigh 290 pounds and I can’t finish one of our ribeyes,” Tyler Dreiling says.
Booth Creek’s products, found at its Manhattan and Overland Park storefronts and online, fetch a sizable premium over supermarket cuts. Dreiling says there’s a market niche for truly indulgent beef.
“We’re not trying to be a 100% replacement for what people are normally eating beef-wise,” Dreiling explains. “We’re trying to be in people’s minds for those special occasions.”