Local farms offer visits, shops

Are you an alpaca fan? Menagerie Hill Ranch at 4071 Norman Court in Vacaville is a small family-run farm that is, in itself, family-friendly.

The ranch is made up of 3,000 acres between Vacaville and Winters, giving amazing views of the area. The ranch is a full service livestock ranch, built around the passion for its alpacas, but includes free-range chickens, three dogs and several cats, thereby earning the name Menagerie.

It was designed to be a sustainable, profitable operation while holding true to the family values of honesty, integrity, fairness, and helpfulness. They believe in treating their animals, land, and environment with the utmost respect, focusing on breeding alpacas with continuous improvement in the vibrancy, fitness, density, and crimp of the wool they create. Merchandise made from those alpacas, including yarn, toys, clothing, and more, can be purchased at the website: https://www.menageriehillranch.com/store.

Menagerie Hill Farm allows the public to meet their alpacas and learn educational facts about them, all while enjoying the serenity of the animals through their website https://www.menageriehillranch.com/page/7653/ranch-tours. Adult tickets are $25, kids’ tickets are $11. A tour of up to eight people can be conducted, but dates should be reserved up to four weeks in advance.

Some other local farms that can be visited include Dosanjh Brothers Farms at 2518 Sanctuary Circle in Fairfield; Wilkinson Acres, an organic farm at 5082 Gordon Valley Rd, Fairfield (https://www.wilkinsonacres.com/), and BeLove Farm 7071 Bucktown Lane in Vacaville, which offers a Kids’ Walk tour for $10, outdoor fire pit, and a gift shop that features locally produced foods and crafts. (https://www.belovefarm.com).