Alpacas to bees are sights to see
This year's Butler County Farm Tour includes alpacas, horses and honeybees.
The tour, which runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, will have six stops.
Although those participating in the drive-it-yourself tour won't see Thor or Loki at the Asgard Acres Alpaca Farm on Nursery Road in Forward Township, visitors will encounter alpacas.
Carole Rost, who owns the farm with her husband Joseph, said they brought in the first alpacas 10 years ago.
After the couple bought the farm 25 years ago, they started seeing alpacas at events such as the Butler Farm Show.
The Rosts opted for alpacas after ruling out cattle as a practical farm animal.
“They're easier to take care of,” said Carole Rost.
Alpacas, which look like small llamas, eat hay and orchard grass.
Alpaca fiber is considered warmer and stronger than other animal fiber as well as being water-resistant.
Once settling on alpacas, the Rosts acquired three pregnant females.
“The herd has quickly grown to 33,” Carole Rost said.
Along with attending shows, the farms works with 4-H club youths.
Carole Rost said alpacas, unlike animals such as sheep, are characters.
“They do tend to have a personality,” she said.
Rost, a retired teacher, said the farm is part of the tour, so people can learn about alpacas.
“It's kind of the educator in me,” she said.
Rost explained why the farm is named after the home of the Norse gods.
She and her husband initially could not decide on a name.
“We couldn't agree on anything,” Rost said.
That stalemate ended when the science fiction buffs were watching a movie using Norse names, which are now more recognized after the popularity of films based on Marvel comic book characters.
This latest version of Thor and Loki have appeared in multiple movies in the last few years.
Along with learning about alpaca care and what products are made from their fiber, guests can watch spinning/weaving demonstrations.At the Lutherlyn Equestrian Center on Adventure Lane in Franklin Township, visitors will learn about horse care.This is the first time the center has been on the farm tour.“We thought it was a good opportunity to invite the public,” said Carla Babcock, center program director.The new indoor arena for the equestrian center is now complete.Babcock said the center, which services beginner riders and those needing therapeutic riding, will educate visitors on horse care.There also will be information about the environment.“We have an environmental educational program,” Babcock said.People interested in pottery will have the opportunity to enroll in classes at the center.Babcock said the best part of the center is watching children interact with the horses.“There's such a special connection with that,” she said.Another farm on the tour is Metrick's Harvest View Farm & Market on Eagle Mill Road in Connoquenessing Township, where callers can learn about honeybees and how to make apple cider.The other stops are Eisler Nurseries and PineHall on Dick Road in Connoquenessing Township, Harvest Valley Farms on Ida Lane in Middlesex Township and Pine Hill Farms on Upper Harmony Road in Connoquenessing Township.When the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau took over the tour last year, there were 18 sites.Jack Cohen, tourism bureau president, said this year the tour will focus on one quadrant of the county to simplify the trek.Cohen said the goal is to introduce new places to the tour each year.“We're always looking for new things,” he said.Cohen said the larger tour will return in alternating years, starting in 2017.He said the agricultural industry deserves more recognition.“Nobody works like a farmer,” Cohen said.
