When are you publishing next?

In 2023 we released our first print project, Best of Volume 1. As soon as this project was out the door I moved straight into releasing issue 10. As 2023 came to a close, and I was feeling the effects of burnout, I knew I wasn’t likely to release an issue the following spring. but I thought my hiatus from writing and publishing would be brief. It has been long, and I wanted to take a moment to discuss why for those who have been wondering. 

The first and foremost reason for the delay is that we moved to a new farm in the spring of 2024. A year and a half later I am finally feeling mostly caught up. In addition to moving all the llamas and 10 years worth of accumulated stuff, we have built a barn addition, a new barn, a stud shed, a chicken coop, and a couple thousand feet of fencing. We are also tree farmers now and have been battling blackberries and planting seedlings. I have stubbornly insisted on doing the work ourselves, as I don’t expect to have this kind of opportunity again in my lifetime. 

Secondly, I wrapped up my term as an ILR board member, and have continued serving as the project manager of the ILR database and website project. After more than a year of testing and weekly meetings (sometimes more frequently) the project is nearly complete. 
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Neither the farm, magazine, or the ILR is my day job, which also had changes and challenges in the past two years. Both of these projects ate up my “spare time “ in 2024 and 2025. As our friend Ron Wilkinson of R&G Acres says, when reflecting on his years raising livestock while serving as a school district superintendent, “Well, you have to do something between 6pm and 6 am”.​

The final reason for the delay is that we have special things in the works for the magazine. A Best of Volume 2 is in the works, covering issues 6-10. I have spent some portion of my 6pm-6am hours trying to make the publishing process more smooth, so that I won’t need to be involved in order fulfillment. I have also been working on issue 11, which I believe will be our best issue to date.. I can’t commit to a publishing date for either project yet, but I am confident at least one will be released in 2026. 
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You don’t have to look far to find me speaking with similar confidence about the outgoing year, 2025. In the blink of an eye the year was gone. It has been a fulfilling, memorable, and busy season of life. There have been many lessons learned in the realm of llamas that I look forward to sharing one day soon. 
Until then, please check out our only real publication of 2025, our 6th annual llama market report.