Accoyos of Virginia is a full-service alpaca farm in the rolling hills of Virginia, owned by Warren and Kim Shand. Ever since getting into the alpaca business in 2000, we knew that buying, breeding and selling quality was the way we wanted to go. Our first purchase was two Hemingway daughters. As time went on, we purchased more quality females and bred them to renowned herdsires. Happy with the ease at which the offspring of these females sold, it wasn’t long before we decided we’d like to add Accoyo genetics to our herd. We knew that it would be a slow building process, so little by little, we kept adding another female to our growing number of breeding females. We knew that our patience would pay off. And it has. We now take pleasure in offering full Accoyo genetics and the customer service you need to grow and protect your investment.
Contact us today to learn how you can bank on full Accoyo alpacas from Accoyos of Virginia.
Fast forward to the fall of 2004. The Shand’s received a call from Billy and Sarah Wagner who own a farm about 40 minutes from Accoyos of Virginia. The Wagner’s had a herd of about 12 alpacas and were interested in upgrading their herd. They purchased two alpacas from the Shand’s and developed a friendship that would eventually lead to a partnership in Accoyos of Virginia, based on a common goal of acquiring some of the best genetics in the industry. After much discussion, it was decided in June of 2005 to launch Accoyos of Virginia as a joint venture between the two farms. Each farm would maintain their own small herd of about 12-15 alpacas in the colors that appealed to each individual’s eye but together would focus on obtaining and developing a herd of fine Accoyos from diverse genetics.
Warren has a strong entrepreneurial background having been a heavy equipment dealer with two locations in New York State, an owner of a commercial glass business in Virginia and owner of a collegiate baseball team, also in Virginia, for five years. It is the last venture, owner of a collegiate baseball franchise, that is the common thread for these two partners, beside their quest for building a herd of quality Accoyos.
For eight months out of the year, Billy hurls a fastball at about 100 miles per hour. He has been a major league pitcher for over a decade with career stops with the Houston Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies. This coming season he will join the New York Mets’ pitching staff after having just finalized a four-year contract with them. Once the fall rolls around, though, he’s ready to trade his glove for a shovel and his cleats for muck boots and head out to the pastures to spend some quiet time on his farm in rural Virginia.
While Accoyos of Virginia is in the early stages of its development, a number of full Accoyo females have been purchased by the partners whose goal at this point is to have roughly 20 breeding females. The market for these creatures is white hot and a number of the cria have been sold at several weeks of age. A friend of the Shand’s even jokingly accuses them of selling “futures” since they had a signed contract and a deposit for a female cria yet to be born!
One recent purchase made by the partners was a light fawn full Accoyo female by the name of SA Accoyo Avenganza. She was purchased at the Peruvian Classic Sale held at Stachowski Farms in Mantua, Ohio in late October. She was specifically selected from a handful of other Accoyos in the auction for her fawn coloring and fine, bundling fleece with the hopes of producing more colored Accoyos. In only a matter of weeks, the owners were rewarded when she won first place in her class and fawn color championship at the Palmetto Alpaca Classic with Judge Tim Lavan lavishing many words of praise on her exceptional fleece characteristics.