Mary Jane Fox (Up-Close-and-Personal-Alpaca-Shearing) got her start in the alpaca world 12 years ago. Originally this agri-preneur started with a farm and home animal care service. Then along came the alpaca and she was hooked. Since 1981, grooming animals to look their best was a skill she acquired as a professional horse farm manager and a horse show groomer. After purchasing some fiber males she asked the question "Who's going to shear them?" She perfected her shearing techniques on her fiber boys and at other local farms. Over time she noticed a need for alpaca owners to learn to shear their own animals. This allowed farmers to cut costs and make a less stressful process of their shearing day, while adding fiber shearing to their farms services provided. Therefore, seminars to learn to shear are held every spring at area farms in Ohio and she has published a shearing guide and a cria shearing video that many have found very helpful. She takes great pride in the industry and desires that everyone learns how the shearer’s role is very important in the development of a sustainable and profitable fiber industry.
