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Quri, foreground, is awarded color champion in the Walking Fleece competition at the 2026 Wisconsin Alpaca and Fiber Fest. Duchess, background, is a 6-month-old alpaca. Both are exhibited by Red Gate Alpaca Farm. In the Walking Fleece class, judges evaluate prime fleece while it’s still on the alpaca. Suri fleeces are judged on fineness, micron uniformity, length, color, lock structure, density and luster.
Teri and Kraig Quamme of Red Gate Alpaca Farm near Dundas, Minnesota, exhibit their alpaca Hyperinflation at the Midwest Alpaca Show.
Luna, foreground, and Hyperion, background, share a pen at Red Gate Alpaca Farm’s exhibit at the 2026 Wisconsin Alpaca and Fiber Fest in Madison, Wisconsin. Hyperion, with its lustrous white fleece, earned a reserve-champion award during the event.
Secret Weapon is the sire of several award-winning alpacas.
Kelsey Evans of Grumpelstiltskin’s Fiber Mill near Culver, Minnesota, processes raw fiber into yarn, roving and rug yarn.
Among the equipment at Grumpelstiltskin’s Fiber Mill are a cone winder, skein winder, spinner, plyer and draw frame.
DUNDAS, Minn. – “Alpacas are amazing animals; they have their own personalities,” said Teri Quamme, who – along with her husband, Kraig Quamme – owns Red Gate Alpaca Farm near Dundas. Red Gate is currently home to 71 Suri alpacas; eight crias – baby alpacas – will soon be joining the herd.
Lynn Grooms, Grooms Communications, is a freelance journalist specializing in agriculture.
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Quri, foreground, is awarded color champion in the Walking Fleece competition at the 2026 Wisconsin Alpaca and Fiber Fest. Duchess, background, is a 6-month-old alpaca. Both are exhibited by Red Gate Alpaca Farm. In the Walking Fleece class, judges evaluate prime fleece while it’s still on the alpaca. Suri fleeces are judged on fineness, micron uniformity, length, color, lock structure, density and luster.
Luna, foreground, and Hyperion, background, share a pen at Red Gate Alpaca Farm’s exhibit at the 2026 Wisconsin Alpaca and Fiber Fest in Madison, Wisconsin. Hyperion, with its lustrous white fleece, earned a reserve-champion award during the event.
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