Alpaca day at the RIC

Local alpaca farmers from McCarty's Corner Farm in Davenport and RaDar Farms in Donahue brought their herds to the Regional Innovation Center Monday morning for their annual spring shearing. More than 40 alpacas came to the RIC, where they were sheared by representatives from Shear Relief, an organization that travels the United States grooming alpacas and llamas. After a haircut, the animals were also weighed to see how much fleece was cut away. Each alpaca filled about three large bags with fleece, about a year's worth of growth.