Breeding decisions do not just affect the next years crias!

This is a great article that was in the most recent issue of The Coarse Broads Newsletter and I felt it very appropriate to share it at this time of year when many of us are shearing.   

Every time you make a breeding decision, you are affecting how alpaca fiber is perceived in the minds of not just the textile industry but also the minds of the consumer. Over the course of this year, we have seen a rather large increase in the size of primary fibers in relation to the size of the secondary fibers. Which is a step backwards in uniformity.

Why does that matter? When the primary fibers are 3 and 4 grades above that of the secondary fibers, it creates all sorts of problems in the end product.

This is what we call "hairy" and unfortunatly so does the majority of the consumers who are currently buying alpaca yarns commercially.


Bottom line, it makes an undesirable product that the consumer will never buy again.


We have the perfect storm brewing with Alpaca United generating an enormous amount of press about North American Alpaca Fiber. We need to do our part as breeders by making the best commercially viable fiber we possibly can. This is an opportunity we will not probably ever see again. If we don't step up, we will have no one to blame but ourselves.


We do this by breeding for more uniformity in the fiber. Specifically the primary and secondary fibers closer in grade and character. The wool industry is leaps and bounds ahead of alpaca in this catagory already. Check out the photos.

 Suffolk wool which is very uniform. The primary fibers are almost indistinguishable from the secondaries.

Alpaca fiber - You can see how much bigger the primary fibers are in comparison to the secondary fibers. This sample histograms at 20.4 microns. Even thought that falls within the grade one catagory, it would result in a "Hairy" product.

I challenge you to have 3 or 4 alpacas fiber (neck and blanket fiber) sorted by a sorter in the Certified Sorted® System. When the sorter is finished you will have 2 things you can get no where else.


1. An inventory sheet that outlines what these 3 or 4 alpacas produced by grade and also the amount of profit you stand to make at both Wholesale and Retail thru NAAFP. As well as a way to calculate what it cost you to grow your fiber, so you know just what you need to make off of it. (It cost me $21/ lb this last year)


2. The Alpaca Dating game. A way to use the sort records to make breeding decisions for improving your fiber.


Make 2 breeding decisions using The Alpaca Dating game. Next year you will be amazed at the results.

Seminar & Shearing Weekend Update

The last weekend of June is shearing weekend at Alpacas at Tucker Creek. It will start out with a seminar presented by Carrie Hull from Coarse Broads entitled "A Good Yarn--Essential Yarn Basics That Every Alpaca Breeder Should Know" on Saturday, June 27th starting at 9:30 am. Click on the title to get more details on the seminar. A continental breakfast (being served at 8:30 am and lunch (being served immediately following the seminar) are included with your seminar registration. Serendipity Caffe of Warrenton will be catering our weekend again this year. Please let us know if you have any special dietary requirements. The cost of the seminar is $50 per person paid via check or credit card. Click here to register. As always, seminars are free to client farms.

Following the seminar from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm will be an "Open Barn" for seminar participants, family and friends only. (The public will be welcome to attend the shearing activities on Sunday and Monday.) This will be a great opportunity for you to see Carrie in action as she sorts fiber from area alpaca farms being brought to Tucker Creek for her expertise. Also available will be spinning and other fiber demonstrations along with tours of the barns and pastures and a great chance to check out the new cria.

Then shearing begins on Sunday afternoon, June 28th. Armando Victoria and his crew are scheduled to be here mid-day as they will be shearing for Pat and Rhonda Green at Alpacas at Bear Creek in the morning.

Carrie Hull will be our resident certified sorter again this year. Several of the individuals who attended her seminar last year have started the two year apprenticeship program and will be sorting beside her.

If you wish to help on either day please contact us no later than Friday, June 26th, so we can finalize our duty roster in advance of the event. Shearing on Sunday will begin at 1:00 pm (or whenever Armando arrives). Shearing on Monday will begin at 8:00 am and will be over whenever Armando is. Note the overriding theme here--it all begins and ends with Armando Victoria.

If you wish to watch the event but not get dirty (and we do tend to get dirty) the cost of admission is a nonperishable food item for the Clatsop Community Action Regional Food Bank or the Clatsop County Animal Control Shelter.

Look forward to seeing you there. It is a lot of work but it is our harvest and it is the culmination of all our year long efforts. And from the alpacas' point of view--they are just thrilled to get rid of all that fiber. Even little ones get shorn--here is a shot of Candy and her mom, Queen Amidala, after her tips were shorn at six days of age--you should come back this year just to see what she looks like now.

It is absolutely gorgeous on the Oregon Coast this time of year. Why not make it a nice long weekend--check out some of the hotels listed below and the link to the Chamber website to participate in some of the other wonderful activities available in our little part of the world.

Cannery Pier Hotel - right on the Columbia River, incredible views, day spa available by reservation. Be sure to ask for Ally Stevens when you check availability. ally@cannerypierhotel.com - email

Hotel Elliott - in the center of downtown Astoria--recently restored, beautifully historic.

Holiday Inn Express - also located right on the Columbia River-a little less expensive but still breathtaking views.

Check out the website of the Astoria Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce for a more detailed list of hotels and other activities happening on the coast.

If you are coming in via Portland International Airport, you will be happy to know there is now an air shuttle service available. It is called Seaport Airlines and their service cuts a two hour drive down to a 25 minute flight. To further simplify your weekend planning there is a Hertz Car Rental office at Astoria Regional Airport. Click here for directions to Alpacas at Tucker Creek.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us--we would love to visit with you. Hope you are enjoying the wonderful spring weather and will be able to join us for the seminar, or shearing or both. Enjoy!

Fiber Sorting Events Calendar

March 28-29, 2009 Seminar/Sort
Saturday - "Fiber Sorting for Maximum Profit" - Presented by Carrie Hull
Sunday - hands on assistance with sorting during shearing
Little Blessings Fiber Farm
79809 Stewart Creek Road
Clatskanie, OR 97016
Contact LaVeta Roberts
Phone: 503-701-1167
littleblessingsalpacas@gmail.com
www.littleblessingsalpacas.com/calendar.htm

April 3 thru 5, 2009
Fiber Symposium at Gaston College Textile Center in Belmont, NC.
Presentation of North American Alpaca Fiber Producers
Presenter: Robyn Kuhl
www.alpacafibersymposium.com/index.html

May 18, 2009
Sorting at Snowy River Alpacas
Colfax, CA
Certified Sorter: Robyn Kuhl
Contact Hailey Parker if you are interested in assisting with shearing.
Phone: 530-346-6885
snowyriver1@earthlink.net
www.snowyriveralpacas.com

June 27, 2009
Seminar: A Good Yarn
Certified Sorter: Carrie Hull
Registration: $50 per person includes course materials, snacks and lunch
Alpacas at Tucker Creek
36281 Tucker Creek Lane
Astoria, OR 97103
Contact Peggy Stevens
Click here for more details
Phone: 877-915-0522 Toll Free
peggy@alpacadigest.com
www.alpacadigest.com

June 28 and 29, 2009
Shearing
Certified Sorter: Carrie Hull
Alpacas at Tucker Creek
36281 Tucker Creek Lane
Astoria, OR 97103
Contact Peggy Stevens
If you are interesting in assisting with shearing please contact us by Friday, June 26th
If you are interesting in watching admission is a non-perishable food item for either the Clatsop County Food Bank or the Clatsop County Animal Control Shelter.
Click here for more details
Phone: 877-915-0522 Toll Free
peggy@alpacadigest.com
www.alpacadigest.com

To learn more about fibersorting and the Certified Sorted method check out these websites www.naafp.us and www.fibersorting.com. As we learn of other events we will post them here.

Annual Shearing Days

Alpacas at Tucker Creek will be shearing on Sunday, June 28th and Monday, June 29th. If that seems a little late in the year to be shearing, check with anyone who was at the farm last year. They will share that Mother Nature did not care what the date was when she scheduled the weather for our very important weekend--it was very reminiscent of winter. So, the executive decision was made to shear later--don't know how much later we can go if this weekend doesn't work out but we are going to try the end of June.

Our annual fiber seminar will be held on Saturday, June 27th--see previous post for details.

Carrie Hull will be our resident certified sorter again this year. Several of the individuals who attended her seminar last year have started the two year apprenticeship program and will be joining her this year.

If you wish to help on either day please contact us no later than Friday, June 26th, so we can finalize our duty roster in advance of the event. Shearing on Sunday will begin at 1:00 pm (or whenever Armando arrives). Shearing on Monday will begin at 8:00 am and will be over whenever Armando is. Note the overriding theme here--it all begins and ends with Armando Victoria.

If you wish to watch the event but not get dirty (and we do tend to get dirty) the cost of admission is a nonperishable food item for the Clatsop Community Action Regional Food Bank or the Clatsop County Animal Control Shelter.

Look forward to seeing you there. It is a lot of work but it is our harvest and it is the culmination of all our year long efforts. And from the alpacas' point of view--they are just thrilled to get rid of all that fiber. Even little ones get shorn--here is a shot of Candy and her mom, Queen Amidala, after her tips were shorn at six days of age--you should come back this year just to see what she looks like now. Absolutely gorgeous!

A Good Yarn

Yarn is the base of all textiles. As a breeder of fiber producing animals, alpaca breeders need to understand how what you do affects this basic building block.

A Good Yarn walks you through how yarns are constructed, why they are constructed the way they are and the affect fiber health and fiber condition has on the yarns produced.

This three hour seminar will be presented by Carrie Hull from Coarse Broads at Alpacas at Tucker Creek in Astoria, OR on Saturday, June 27th as part of our three day shearing event. The cost of the seminar is $50 which includes course materials, continental breakfast and lunch. The cost of the course is included in the mentoring package for any clients of Alpacas at Tucker Creek.

As many of you may recall, 2008 was our first year to include fiber sorting in our shearing process. To say it was a success would be an understatement. In the big scope of things this service is worth so much more than the charge per fleece. Just knowing that by the end of shearing day all of the fiber is ready to go with recommendations for its highest and best use along with details we can use for future breeding decisions--makes us wish we had known about this years ago.

Another sorting event will find Peggy helping Hailey Parker at Snowy River Alpacas on May 18th in Colfax, CA, where Robyn Kuhl will be sorting her fiber. Find an event near you (be it a seminar or shearing event) and see what a huge benefit fiber sorting provides for your farm. A list of events is being compiled and will be posted soon. To learn more about the Certifed Sorted process go to www.naafp.us.

Fiber Sorting Seminar & Shearing

The Fiber Sorting Seminar was scheduled for Saturday, June 7th. Carrie Hull, one of the Coarse Broads, arrived on Friday afternoon and immediately started to help us plan the best flow for the seminar and our shearing which was to occur on the two days following the seminar. Participation for the seminar was well received and several decided to enroll in the classes Carrie and her partner, Robyn Kuhl, present in Idaho.

Probably the most telling comment as to the success of the weekend was after it was over, David and I scheduled Carrie for next year's shearing weekend. Her seminar will be an annual event and her services were what we have been looking for since we finished our first shearing in 2004.

Here is what Carrie accomplished in a very short amount of time (certainly when compared to what I would have been fretting about). When she arrived on Friday evening we had fiber in 44 bags from prior shearing days. By the time she left on Tuesday morning she had presented a full-day seminar on Saturday; starting sorting the fiber in the bags Sunday morning until the shearing crew arrived; sorted all the fiber shorn on Sunday; sorted the remainder of the shearing completed on Monday and then finished sorting the remainder of the fiber in the bags--all before she left. The end result is bags of fiber ready to go (no more processing on our end). To say that our first shearing with fiber sorting was a success is definitely an understatement. We also made notes on what could be done differently next year to make the process even more productive in 2009.

If you want to learn more about the services of a certified sorter or want more details on the North American Alpaca Fiber Producers Cooperative follow the links below:

http://www.fibersorting.com/

http://www.naafp.us/

We are happy to be members of the cooperative and will be soon be adding the Certified Sorted logo to our website.