養(yǎng)殖羊駝有趣又賺錢

From VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture Report.
這里是美國之音慢速英語農(nóng)業(yè)報道。

Alpacas are large animals with long, thick hair. They are related to camels and llama. Most of them live in the Andean area of South America. But a growing number of them are being raised in the United States. VOA recently visited an Alpaca Farm near Washington to find out why.
羊駝是一種有著長長的、厚實的毛發(fā)的動物。它們和駱駝及美洲駝有關系。它們中的多數(shù)生活在南美洲的安第斯地區(qū)。但越來越多的羊駝在美國被喂養(yǎng)。美國之音近日走訪了華盛頓附近的一家羊駝養(yǎng)殖場以找到原因。

Alpacas are being sheared at an Alpaca Farm in Maryland, less than an hour away from the nation's capital. Shearing is the process of removing that thick, heavy covering of fleece from the animal. Some of the alpacas quietly let the owners shear them, but some of them do not like it at all.
在距離首都華盛頓不到一個小時車程的馬里蘭州的一家羊駝養(yǎng)殖場，羊駝們正在被剪毛。剪毛就是從動物身上剪掉厚實毛發(fā)的過程。有些羊駝安靜地讓主人剪毛，還有些羊駝一點也不喜歡剪毛。

The alpacas on Sugarloaf Farm are sheared to keep them cool during the hot summer months. The shearing is also profitable for farm owner Kevin Brandt. He says there is a growing demand for alpaca wool.
糖塊農(nóng)場（Sugarloaf Farm）的羊駝被剪掉羊毛，使得它們在炎熱的夏季保持涼爽。剪羊毛對農(nóng)場主凱文?勃蘭特（Kevin Brandt）來說也是有利可圖的。他說人們對羊駝毛的需求在不斷增長。

"We're finding that there are more people in the marketplace looking for alpaca yarns because it's considered to be hypoallergenic, and it's really as soft as cashmere," Brandt said.
勃蘭特說：“我們發(fā)現(xiàn)市場上有越來越多人在尋找羊駝毛線，因為它被認為是低過敏性的毛線，而且和羊絨一樣柔軟。”

Mr Brandt and his workers turn the fleece from the animals into yarn, using an equipment at the farm. Mr Brandt sales natural and colored yarn, and other alpaca products in his store at the farm. But that is not the only way he makes money from his animals.
勃蘭特和他的員工使用農(nóng)場的一臺設備將這些羊毛紡成紗線。勃蘭特在農(nóng)場的商店里出售原色和染色的紗線，以及其它羊毛制品。但這并不是他從羊駝身上賺錢的唯一途徑。

"We raise and sell alpacas as bred females. We also sell pet males and fiber males to others. We also have a stud service where we'll take our stud males around for hire," Brandt said.
勃蘭特說：“我們喂養(yǎng)和出售育種雌羊駝，還向他人出售寵物雄羊駝。我們還提供配種服務，將配種雄羊駝四處出租?！?/span>

Mr Brandt says he entered the Alpaca of farming business, because he and his family love the animals.
勃蘭特說，他進入羊駝養(yǎng)殖行業(yè)，是因為他和家人都喜歡這種動物。

"My wife Nancy and oldest daughter and I were at the local country fair and we decided to stop into one more barn before we went home and it happened to be the alpaca barn and almost instantly we fell in love with the alpacas," Brandt said.
勃蘭特：“我老婆南希、大女兒和我當時在本地的集市上，我們決定在回家前再進一家畜棚看看，而這家剛好是羊駝畜棚。幾乎是在一瞬間我們都愛上了羊駝?！?/span>

Experts estimate there are about 300,000 alpacas in the United States. Mr Brandt says fewer alpacas live in places other than South America. The Farm's website says 99 percent of the 3 million alpacas in the world live in Peru, Bolivia and Chile.
據(jù)專家預計，目前在美國大約有3萬頭羊駝。勃蘭特表示，很少有羊駝生活在南美以外的地方。該農(nóng)場的網(wǎng)站稱，全球300萬頭羊駝的99%生活在秘魯、玻利維亞和智利。

"Alpaca are just a wonderful livestock. They're gentle. We've raised our three kids here and it's a wonderful lifestyle to have," said Brandt.
勃蘭特：“羊駝是一種奇妙的牲畜。它們很溫和。我們在這里養(yǎng)大了三個孩子，這是一種美妙的生活方式?！?/span>

And as more and more people learn about the joy and money alpacas can bring, he believes there will be even more farms like his.
隨著越來越多人了解到羊駝可以帶來的樂趣和財富，他認為會有更多像他這樣的農(nóng)場。

And that's the VOA Learning English Agriculture Report. For more agriculture stories, go to our website learningenglish.voanews.com. I'm Caty Weaver.
以上就是本期美國之音慢速英語農(nóng)業(yè)報道的全部內(nèi)容。更多農(nóng)業(yè)新聞，請訪問learningenglish.voanews.com。我是卡蒂?韋弗（Caty Weaver）。

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