Traveling the twisting, two-lane blacktop pastoral roads of Jasper County brings the nonstop sight of cows, horses and chickens. Nestled into this farmland is the Stroka-Gene-Us Alpaca Farm in Stringer, where one can pet these animals and learn how to spin their fleece into yarn.

The 27-acre farm owned by Mary Ann Stroka is home to several alpacas where visitors can pet the docile animals during educational tours conducted by Stroka herself.

Stroka retired to Stringer from New York. After seeing her first alpaca, she fell in love. “They were so unbelievably soft,” said Stroka. “I just had to have a few.”

She and her family also needed a place to to keep the alpacas, which many confuse with their larger cousin, the llama. She settled on this location, which can be found through a left turn off MS 15 South onto County Road 155 in Stringer.

“Alpaca fleece is ten times softer and three times warmer than wool,” said Stroka. “It’s naturally water resistant and hypoallergenic. From separating fleece fibers using a carder machine to the spinning wheel making a skein of yarn is so relaxing. You get into a rhythm. The whole process takes about nine hours, so I do it because I love it, certainly not for the money,” she said.

  • No, not a llama, an alpaca. Alpacas are smaller than their llama cousins of the camelid family. That family also includes vicunas, guanacos, bactrian (two hump) camels and dromedary (one hump) camels. This is one of the alpacas at the Stroka Gene-Us Alpaca Farm owned and operated by Mary Ann Stroka in Stringer. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Alpacas at the 27-acre Stroka Gene-Us Alpaca Farm owned and operated by Mary Ann Stroka in Stringer. Stroka became fascinated with the animals while living in New York. When she and her husband retired, she brought the animals to Mississippi. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • “They’re so soft,” said Mary Ann Stroka. “Alpaca hair is ten times softer than wool and three times warmer.” Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • A left turn off MS 15 South onto County Road 155 in Stringer will take you to the Stroka Gene-Us Alpaca Farm, owned and operated by Mary Ann Stroka. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Mary Ann Stroka with five of her Great Pyrenees dogs at her Stroka Gene-Us Alpaca Farm in Stringer. The dogs guard the alpacas from predators. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Mary Ann Stroka inside the gift and work shop, where she demonstrates a carder, used to separate the fleece fibers sheared from the alpacas. She dyed the fibers she holds. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Mary Ann Stroka demonstrates how she spins fleece fibers from her alpacas into yarn. “It’s calming,” said Stroka. “You get into a rhythm. The whole process takes about nine hours, so you do it because you love it, certainly not for the money.” Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Plush toys made from alpaca fleece at the Stroka-Gene-Us Alpaca Farm in Stringer. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Visitors to the Stroka-Gene-Us Alpaca Farm in Stringer, learn about alpacas, watch yarn created from alpaca fleece or take a spinning class. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Alpaca yarn. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Dryer balls made from alpaca fleece. Alpaca fleece is naturally hypoallergenic and water resistant. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Yards of yarn made from alpaca fleece at the Stroka-Gene-Us Alpaca Farm in Stringer. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today

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Vickie King has experience as a professional photographer spanning 35 years- from childhood purchasing her first camera by selling flower seeds to neighbors, as a stringer for Associated Press in Des Moines, Iowa, a freelancer shooting an album cover to your loved one’s wedding, and your kids and pets at a J.C. Penney portrait studio. She joins the Mississippi Today team as a photojournalist.

A native Mississippian and resident of Jackson, Vickie was born in Laurel.
You know her work from years as a staff photographer for the Clarion-Ledger. Her award-winning photography has appeared in such publications as the New York Times, Editor & Publisher Magazine, People Magazine, in national news broadcasts, and books depicting the devastation of Hurricane Katrina to the glory of Ole Miss football.

Most recently, she is the former photographer, Special Projects Officer IV, Staff Officer I, videographer, and online content producer for the Mississippi Department of Corrections. She is also a Pulitzer Prize nominee for Spot News.

Vickie is a graduate of Simpson College, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Media Relations.