Elegante Vellon, pronounced (Ella-gawn-tay - Vay-own), translates into (Elegant Fleece) in Spanish.

Accoyo Heritage is our passion, high-lighting the family lineage we specialize in. Full blooded Accoyo means each alpaca in this category can be traced back through ancestry directly to Don Julio’s ranch in Peru named Estancia Accoyo. Translated in Spanish it means (Sandy Ground). See Accoyo History. 

In 2010 thanks to Don and Julie Skinner, owners of Snowmass Alpacas we were presented with an amazing opportunity to begin cross breeding our Accoyo line with their Snowmass line.  A genetic super herd that is truly WORLD CLASS.   

Today our breeding program follows two (2) distinct paths.  Full blooded Accoyo and the (newest) Accoyo/Snowmass cross.  Both lines are pursued with the same amount of focus, pride and excitement.    

In the Beginning:
At the start of our pre-purchase investigations back in 2004 we learned during the early years of importation the Accoyo line brought our industry many elite full Accoyo (originals) both male and female. Herdsires such as Legacy, Caligula, Camilio, Victor and many others that today have no doubt elevated the alpaca species as a whole. Full Accoyo’s that injected trade mark qualities such as uniformity, density and fineness from years of selective line breeding.

These qualities propelled many breeding programs that would not be where they are today if it were not for these amazing Accoyo studs and their offspring.

We also learned because of these qualities and rare numbers in our national herd, early market values for the full blooded Accoyo’s brought elevated values via private treaty sales and/or auctions.

What began for us as a fascination and admiration of one mans life work and the elite alpacas he bred, turned into the harsh reality that many full blooded Accoyo’s in the United States were being irresponsibly bred. The once careful pairing of the line was no longer in the hands of the man who spent a lifetime pondering each breeding to create a better generation. Or at least hold the status quo.

The US breeders began a marketing blitz and urgency to try and seemingly mass produce full blooded Accoyo’s. Any Accoyo male was put over any Accoyo female in many instances. This haste created a degeneration of the genetics and the once beloved Accoyo line as a whole. Yet the appetite to purchase Don Julio’s Accoyo’s at elevated prices continued on for many years. The entire process slowly undermined and eroded a large portion of the US Accoyo genetic line.

It is at this point we realized our mission was to specialize in full blooded Accoyo lineage. It became clear that all Accoyo’s were no longer created equal. It became even clearer to us that if breeders and lovers of this line did not step in and begin the elevation process the whole family line as we knew it would be gone in a few short decades. The full Accoyo’s of yesterday would be only mythological creatures and photos in our breeding books of what to breed for. Yet no live examples on US ranches would be found.

Fortunately today their are breeders and lovers of this Accoyo line who do an amazing job to preserve and elevate quality. Breeders that understand the very special genetics they have been sent. We consider ourselves part of that family.

TODAY:
Accoyo Heritage and our breeding program focus on:

1) Overall herd health
2) Confirmation
3) Fleece density - uniformity
4) Fleece coverage - uniformity
5) Fine, bright, crimped, micro bundling
6) Holding these qualities into old age
7) Homozygous genes. Passing on this excellence to the next generation

All Accoyo’s are not created equal in our industry. We guarantee that Accoyo Heritage only breeds the best alpacas we own to the best alpacas we can acquire. Period. Whether we own them or purchase breedings to them.

Countless hours, weeks and sometimes months are researched to evaluate breeding choices. The ancestry of every alpaca involved and especially offspring research that studs or foundation females produce. This is the truest form of verifying the homozygous gene. Identifying the true Seed stock producers. Not just show animals that are unable to recreate their own excellence.

Our goal is to elevate the Accoyo line in the US. We strive to continue the work that Don Julio spent a life time building. Elite alpacas was what Don Julio produced on Estancia Accoyo. He wanted to give us the seed stock from that work for a lifetime of genetic advancement.

That seed stock will not be wasted on our watch. The dream of excellence will continue on at one small ranch in Southwest Utah. Great pride and joy is what we have when we create Accoyo Heritage each spring.

Our promise:
You will not find more dedicated breeders and lovers of the Accoyo family line than the owners and staff at Accoyo Heritage. The tireless work we do daily to achieve genetic greatness is our passion. We are available to all our customers or those interested to learn 24/7, 365 days a year.

We want to see you achieve high levels in your breeding program. Your success in this industry is our success. Not just words, but how we live our lives.

Elegante Vellon Alpacas - Accoyo Heritage
Snowmass Sales Agents