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.

Snow River Alpacas Annual Shearing

Tomorrow Peggy is traveling to Colfax, CA to help Snowy River Alpacas with their annual shearing day. Robyn Kuhl from Coarse Broads will be there to sort the fiber.

And don't forget on Saturday, June 27th Carrie Hull from Coarse Broads will be presenting the seminar "A Good Yarn" at our farm in Astoria, OR. The cost is $50. As with all seminars presented at our farm, the cost is waived for clients of Alpacas at Tucker Creek. A continental breakfast will be served at 8:30 am with the seminar scheduled for 9:00 am. We will be shearing the following two days. If you would like to help please contact us on or before Friday, June 26th so we can include you in our duty roster (our email and phone numbers are in the box to the right). 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.

If you are near Snowy River Alpacas this weekend through Tuesday and would like to learn more about the Certified Sorted™ method please contact Hailey at 530-346-6885 so she and Robyn can be expecting you.