Meet the Blue-Haired Farmer from Chaos Farm in Lincoln

Emily Bonci with her baby lamb, Hudson. Photo by Tabitha Pereira

On a warm spring morning, with the sun shining bright and the trees showing the first signs of life, I pull up to Chaos Farm. I’m greeted by a pack of fuzzy alpacas, the sounds of a bleating baby lamb, and Emily Bonci, the farm’s owner and operator, who’s decked out in a floral jumpsuit with a full face of gorgeous makeup and shimmering blue hair.

Immediately, I wonder if I’m underdressed for the occasion in my leggings, old sneakers and shirt-I-figured-I-could-get-dirty that I meticulously planned out the night before (what does one wear for a morning on the farm?). Turns out, I could’ve worn what I usually do on a day in the office or out for drinks with my girlfriends. Bonci is shining in the sunlight with her stylish getup and beaming smile, and I’m excited for what lies ahead in my farm adventure today.

Bonci, who calls herself the “#bluehairedfarmer” on social media, wants to take the stereotypes out of farming. “I think something I’m most proud of, and think about a lot, is that I am changing the face and expectations of farming in so many ways and one of them is just with my hair,” she says. “It’s a testimony to finding your own voice and colors, celebrating them and daring to be yourself. Life is short — live in color.”

Colorful socks made from the fiber of the farm’s alpacas. Photo courtesy of Emily Bonci

She owns and operates Chaos Farm, a quaint alpaca fiber farm on her homestead in Lincoln, which she shares with her husband, Tim. The unique name stems from a chaotic day when Bonci was trying to transport her alpacas (which she owned as pets when she lived in Massachusetts) to her home. When a store clerk asked what the name of her farm was going to be, Bonci — with a crying toddler in tow and a flat trailer tire to deal with — said, without hesitation, “Chaos. I am Chaos Farm.” 

“It was genuine, completely off the cuff, living in the moment and honest — which we still live by today. We are still Chaos, but we have learned to find the immense beauty in it,” she says.

What started out as three pet alpacas has since blossomed into a farm filled with six alpacas, chickens, guinea fowl and beehives. The fiber from the alpacas is woven into comfy and stylish socks, mittens, scarves, beanies and plushies that Bonci sells online. 

There’s also an adorable baby lamb named Hudson. Hudson has spent much of his early days hanging out indoors with his canine sisters, Zoey and Eowyn, and has become an honorary pup himself. 

The lamb-puppy hybrid follows close behind Bonci throughout the entire morning and whines when she disappears for more than a few moments (but in the days since my visit, the farm welcomed a new sibling to keep him company, a fuzzy black lamb named Penelope). His whines join the harmony of chickens clucking and guinea fowl squawks, not to mention the alpacas getting up to various kinds of mischief in the barn and Zoey barking from inside the house a few yards away.

Bonci, the leader of the pack and the blue-haired farmer who keeps things running among the chaos, takes it all in stride. “You do the best you can, be genuine and kind, and above all — keep going,” she says.

To keep up with all of Chaos Farm’s wild shenanigans, you can follow along on Facebook (Chaos Farm) or Instagram (@chaosfarmalpaca). And to purchase fuzzy products made from the alpacas’ fiber, visit chaosfarmalpaca.com.