Alpaca Industry News

July 13, 2009

2009 National Alpaca Farm Days

The third annual National Alpaca Farm Days is September 26 and 27, 2009!

Registration is open!  Go to www.alpacaowners.com and click on the National Alpaca Farm Days tab to register your farm to participate in a national advertised event!

National Alpaca Farm Days is an opportunity for every member to “get on the map” of alpaca farms and ranches.  This event is a national recognized weekend with built in help for participating member farms and ranches.

Use your imagination to make visitor’s farm experience memorable.  AOBA has suggestions and marketing items available to participating farms.  Be creative and make this weekend special by adding your own style.

Questions about National Alpaca Farm Day?  Contact AOBA office at
member@aobamail.com or val@starralpacafarm.com.

BE PART OF A NATIONAL EVENT!
OPEN YOUR FARM ON SEPTEMBER 26-27!

Sign up at www.nationalalpacafarmdays.com

July 13, 2009

AOBA ANNUAL MARKETING SURVEY – 2009

For Immediate Release – July 13, 2009

The annual Marketing Survey is now open to members.  This survey is undertaken each year about this time to help the committee be as effective as possible in developing programs and services to support you.  To do this we would like to gain a better understanding of your needs and experiences.  Since this is an annual survey designed to track changes and trends in the industry, some of the questions have been repeated from previous surveys so that we can compare the aggregate responses of our members from year to year and monitor changes.

Please complete the following survey by July 31, 2009

No matter how new you are to our industry, your feedback is critical.  Survey results will be used for future planning.  For technical assistance or questions about the survey, please contact Barb Nuessle, Marketing Committee member, by email:  bnuessle@aol.com or Phone:  (609) 884-0563.

Click on this link to complete the survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=gx6QhAT_2bp3VdHJ2_2b_2bRgbJQ_3d_3d

Thank You,
AOBA Marketing Committee

July 15, 2009

Membership Committee Needs Volunteers

For Immediate Release – July 15, 2009

The AOBA Membership Committee needs volunteers to serve on the Committee.  Working with the committee you will have the chance to have an impact on structure as well as to help fulfill the committee’s mission.

The mission is to promote awareness and appreciation of the value and benefits of membership in AOBA.  The Membership Committee’s goal is to evaluate the needs and concerns of the AOBA membership to foster retention and the needs and concerns of potential members to promote AOBA membership growth.  We are looking for individuals who are enthusiastic and creative, and who have a passion for developing membership benefit ideas and promoting AOBA membership.

If you have ideas for AOBA membership growth, please get in touch with AOBA Board liaison, Jess Bowers, alpacas@acresoflove.com

Thanks for your interest!

Jess Bowers
Membership Committee Liaison
alpacas@acresoflove.com

Larry Dietsch
Membership Committee Chair
larry@destinyalpacas.com

Alpacas in Mainstream Media

Llama-Rama in Clark County
Evening News and Tribune - Jeffersonville,IN,USA
She owns lots of them, not to mention a handful of alpaca. She and co-leader Pam Hall run of the Luv-A-Lot Llama club through the Clark County 4-H Club. …
See all stories on this topic

Wildlife rehabilitator gives injured animals second chance
Schenectady Gazette - Schenectady,NY,USA
Laraway’s center started off 15 years ago as a llama and alpaca rescue. The Laraways had bred the animals, using them for hiking and backpacking and for …
See all stories on this topic

Things that make you go “Hmmm.”

Kissing an alpaca

Staten Island Zoo holds alpaca kissing contest
Staten Island Advance - SILive.com - Staten Island,NY,USA
by Staten Island Advance Hilton floresassemblyman Matthew Titone, winner of the Staten Island Zoo’s alpaca kissing contest, smooches the first of three …
See all stories on this topic

Four Vie For Miss Frederick County Farm Bureau fitle
Frederick News Post (subscription) - Frederick,MD,USA
German lives on an alpaca farm, where she also raises cattle, chicken, horses, rabbits and swine. In addition, she works on another alpaca farm. …
See all stories on this topic

Journalism in crisis? No, it’s a stubborn refusal to join the …
guardian.co.uk - UK
She approvingly quotes Audije Alpaca, deputy general secretary of the Fund for Investigative Journalism, as saying: “If you complain, you may lose your job. …
See all stories on this topic

I wonder what your family background is if your last name is “alpaca”?

Farm Shout-Outs

Alpaca Industry News

Dear AOBA Member:

I hope that you are enjoying the summer!

The AOBA Board of Directors has established a Communication Task Force to work on recommendations for improving two-way communication between the Board and the Membership.  This task force will, among other things, look at establishing a replacement for the Affiliate Congress, research better use of the internet and other options for improved two-way communication and consider ways of increasing membership input into important industry decisions.  We will need at least one or two individuals familiar with computers and internet communication options to serve on this committee.  Must be organized and willing to work hard (as a volunteer) in a team setting.  Patience and a sense of humor are a plus!

Contact Libby Forstner, AOBA Board Member, at libby@alpacafarm.com for more information.

Deadline is Saturday, July 11, 2009.

Alpacas in Mainstream Media

July 4
Alpaca herd hit by TB
The Cornishman - Truro,England,UK
HEARTBROKEN alpaca owner Dianne Summers is warning others in the South West to be on their guard, after four of her herd had to be put down because they …
See all stories on this topic

July 9
Fears raised of growing TB problem in alpacas
Farmers Guardian - Preston,England,UK
By Alistair Driver THE inability of Government to force alpaca owners to test for bovine TB (bTB) and slaughter infected animals is allowing the disease to …
See all stories on this topic

July 6
Poachers kill hundreds of vicunas
The Press Association
Vicunas are smaller cousins to the llama and alpaca and were once hunted almost to extinction. But environmentalists persuaded Andean villagers to switch to …
See all stories on this topic

Things that make you go “Hmmm.”

July 9
Prematurely born seal ‘rescued’ from Saanich beach
BCLocalNews - Victoria,BC,Canada
Nicknamed Alpaca by aquarium staff, the male pup’s first 48 hours of life are a mystery. Weighing seven kilograms and with extra lanugo (hair usually lost …
See all stories on this topic

Staten Island family fun: Pucker up for the Zoo
Staten Island Advance - SILive.com - Staten Island,NY,USA
Notable New Yorkers are lining up to kiss this alpaca at the Staten Island Zoo, July 11. STATEN ISLAND, NY — What would you do-oo-oo for your local zoo? …

Farm Shout-Outs

There were no bulletins from ARI or AOBA this week, so I’ll post a few events coming up next week from the AOBA website.

http://www.alpacainfo.com/calendar.asp#Jul09

Alpacas in Mainstream Media

Summer’s Here! Time to Shed That Heavy Fleece
Lancaster Farming - Ephrata,PA,USA
You may have spent the past month or two packing away your winter clothing, but it’s just not that simple for an alpaca. These South American natives don’t …
See all stories on this topic
Enter Jay Ward, owner of Light Livestock Equipment in Jay, New York. An alpaca owner himself, Ward has been helping shearers and alpaca owners grow more proficient at shearing by hosting an alpaca shearing school for the past two years.

“A number of years ago, I was a professional shearer, and I had to cut back, so we started the school in order for alpaca owners to learn to do it themselves, and for others to do it professionally in order to fill the void,” said Ward.

June 27
High in the Andes, Peruvians mark Christ’s appearance to shepherd boy
Catholic News Service - DC,USA
“It is no longer a celebration of llama and alpaca herders.” Father Antonio Sanchez-Guardamino, a Jesuit from Spain’s Basque region and pastor in the town …
See all stories on this topic

“The festival of the Lord of Qoyllur Rit’i, marking Christ’s appearance to a young shepherd boy and coinciding with the full moon nearest to the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, dates to the 1780s, though its roots probably go back further. Like many religious traditions, it has evolved over the centuries, but it is now threatened by tourism, global warming and simple economics.”

“In the middle of the night, columns of men dressed in shaggy robes representing bears or black alpacas slipped away by moonlight and climbed for several hours over narrow, rocky trails to glaciers high on the mountain walls. The men, known as “pablos,” play a special role during the fiesta, and their pilgrimage to the ice is a high point of the celebration.”

6-29-09

WABA Socks

I won’t make a habit of tooting our own horn, but I am Vice President of the WABA, the Willamette Alpaca Breeders Association. A couple years ago, WABA bought $500 worth of alpaca socks and sent them to the troops in Afghanistan. They were such a hit that we did it again this year. I’ll read the note the President of WABA sent about the donation.

Good Morning Everyone,

I thought I should let you know that the socks arrived and I gave them over to the local Veterans group who will be shipping them to the Middle East tomorrow along with other donations for the troops at no cost to us. The local representative was very pleased to get donation. She was very effusive with her praise for the alpaca farmers who contributed. She was really pleased that the alpaca was grown in America and that the socks were made here as well. There will be some public fan fare when the goods are shipped off and the radio station KTRT will cover it at 9:00 tomorrow morning. WABA will be credited with the donation on the air.

Greg Schneider

—————————————–

Sylvan Skies Alpacas

40980 Rodgers Mountain Loop

Scio, Oregon 97374

(503) 551-0069

Things That Make You Go “Hmmm.”

June 29
COMING EVENTS
Staten Island Advance - SILive.com - Staten Island,NY,USA
STATEN ISLAND, NY — The Staten Island Zoo has announced its first-ever “Alpaca Kissing Contest BBQ” July 11, 1 to 4 pm at the zoo in West Brighton. …
See all stories on this topic
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The Staten Island Zoo has announced its first-ever “Alpaca Kissing Contest BBQ” July 11, 1 to 4 p.m. at the zoo in West Brighton. The cost to attend the barbecue is $10 for adults and $7 for children 10 years and under. No reservations are necessary. For further information, contact the Zoo at 718-442-3174, ext. 37.

Voting is taking place now to determine who is the lucky one to pucker up with, what else, a cute and cuddly alpaca. The results will be revealed at the barbecue. Christine Quinn, speaker of the City Council; Assemblymen Lou Tobacco and Matthew Titone, State Sen. Diane Savino, Greg T from Z100, and John Caltabiano, executive director of the Staten Island Zoo, have all entered the Alpaca Kissing contest and are urging all their supporters to vote for them.

Farm Shout-Outs

Alpaca Industry News

June 23, 2009

———- Forwarded message ———-

Camelids, Endophyte Toxicosis, and Ryegrass Staggers

Linda L. Blythe
A.Morrie Craig
Christopher Cebra
Charles Estill

A number of cases of suspected ryegrass staggers have been reported in
the Pacific Northwest.  In addition, there are reports on the internet
of llamas developing ryegrass staggers at a show when they were housed
on turf variety grass set up in paddock.  On the same source of
information, it was stated that llamas are three times more sensitive to
lolitrem B than are cattle or sheep. To date, no studies had been
conducted on the threshold levels of lolitrem B in llamas or alpacas.
With the current analytical ability to measure lolitrem levels in
pasture grass, straw, seed, and pellets at the Endophyte Laboratory at
Oregon State University, these threshold levels can now be ascertained.
The toxic threshold level for cattle is 1800 to 2000 ppb.  An experiment
was conducted using alpacas to determine the threshold of toxicity in
this species.

Nine alpacas were divided into groups of three and feed three different
doses of lolitrem B in pelleted endophyte positive perennial ryegrass
straw (Lolium perenne L).   In adjacent pens, two 9 month old heifers
were fed the same three diets to serve as controls.  The dosages of
lolitrem B averaged 900ppb, 1270ppb, and 2700ppb.  The quantities of
feed consumed and the food left over (orts) were measured.  Calves in
this experiment developed clinical signs of ryegrass staggers at the
2700ppb dose but not the other two doses.  Alpacas consumed feed with
the two lower doses, but refused the feed containing the 2700 ppb.  No
alpacas developed any clinical signs of ryegrass staggers in this study.
These results would at least indicate that alpaca are not three times
more susceptible than cattle.

June 16, 2009

AOBA Veterinaria Forum on the AOBA website.

AOBA Veterinarian Forum.doc

David Barboza, Secretary

Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association

AOBA has formed the Emergent Health Issues Task Force and instituted a web based Veterinarian Forum.  AOBA’s Vet’s Forum is now operational and is available to any licensed Veterinarian without cost.  The emergent health issues task force is composed of Veterinarians who are developing a comprehensive health issues system within AOBA to react when National health issues occur.   The initial major objectives of the group are as follows:

• This task force will recommend a structure for a panel of Veterinarians who will review major health issues as they emerge and make recommendations to AOBA for communication to the membership on the possible impact to the national herd and what, if any, course of action should be taken.
• Institute a peer review process composed of Veterinarians who will review articles and information on health/husbandry issues before they are posted on the AOBA website.  This process will help to assure AOBA members that the information being posted on the website is current and accurate.
• Create a Veterinarian forum on the AOBA website where information can be shared and discussed among Veterinarians committed to the industry as well as archived for future reference.

If you haven’t already please encourage your vet to sign up and participate in AOBA’s Vet Forum located on the web at www.alpacaowners.com.  Contact AOBA Executive Director Bill Edmunds at bill@aobamail.com for more information or if your vet would like to participate in either the Emergent Health Issues Task Force and/or the peer review panel.

Alpacas in Mainstream Media

June 22, 2009

UA students turn hobby into career
Akron Beacon Journal - Akron,OH,USA
Last year, Medina native Katie Simmons had one of the more exotic internships: the Misti International alpaca farm in Arequipa in southeastern Peru. …
See all stories on this topic

..Henry is among 11 students who are studying knitting, crocheting, cross-stitch, needlepoint and embroidery at UA with an eye to jobs in those industries.

Students from [University of Akron]  UA and other universities spend three weeks on the Akron campus learning the needle arts. Then they intern for specialty yarn makers, shops, crafters and pattern makers for eight weeks in London, Montreal, rural Virginia and many points in between.

…Then they send the students out to internships, where they may be paid or may get free housing in exchange for their work.

Last year, Medina native Katie Simmons had one of the more exotic internships: the Misti International alpaca farm in Arequipa in southeastern Peru.

The trip refocused the interests of the UA graduate student from metalsmithing to alpacas. She’s doing her thesis in clothing, textiles and interiors on the Ohio alpaca industry, the largest in the United States, and plans to open a mill to process and clean alpaca fiber and spin it into yarn.

The internship ”completely changed the direction of my schooling,” she said.

Fungus sends alpacas blind
http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/200906/s2608228.htm

Thursday, 25/06/2009

Toxins from an unidentified fungus are causing blindness in alpacas on a farm in Western Victoria.

Marnoo alpaca farmer, Tracy Krupa, says four of her alpacas have gone blind after ingesting the toxin, with three of them having to be euthanised.

She says an investigation by the Department of Primary Industries wasn’t able to find the source of the fungus.

“We had plants taken away and the DPI came up and had a look at the plants around the yards in the paddock,” she says.

“There are gum trees in the yard; [we're unsure] whether or not a fungus grows around the base of the gum trees - we just can’t identify it.”

Things that Make You Go “Hmmmm?”

Just a quick note about the numbering for future “Alpacas in the News.” These casts are not going to be numbered separately from other Paca Talk episodes. This means that the previous cast (June 19, 2009) is Paca Talk #9. The “News” casts will be referred to by their dates, instead.

Sorry for the confusion!

maren

From the producers of Paca Talk … it’s

Alpacas in the News!

For June 19, 2009.

Introduction:

Welcome to Alpacas in the News, the new weekly segment of Paca Talk dedicated to bringing you alpaca-related news items from around the world. This is Alpacas in the News number One.

I’m Maren Bradley Anderson, the host of Alpacas in the News. I am also the co-host of Paca Talk (the podcast for alpaca people by alpaca people) and co-owner of Evergreen Terrace Farms Alpacas.

You are probably hearing this because Charles and I have inserted it into the feed for Paca Talk, our monthly alpaca podcast. We simply cannot do Paca Talk any more frequently than our current 4-6 week schedule, but I wanted to put more material into the feed. One day as I stood in the barn wishing an alpaca
would just give birth already, I came up with the idea of doing a weekly, five-minute alpaca news cast.

I have a collection of alpaca-related news articles and funny things I see on television and the Internet. We include a few on every episode of Paca Talk, but there are far more out there than we can include in that segment. In addition to straight, alpaca-industry news from AOBA and ARI, I am going to include some quirky favorites (like the alpaca/llama Starburst ad), and give some shout-outs to small farms who make it into their local papers. In this cast, we’re going back a few weeks, but in future podcasts, we are limiting
entries to the previous week only.

We’re going to commit to this weekly cast for the summer of 2009. Come mid-September, we’ll evaluate how the show is doing and decide whether to continue it. So, if you like Alpacas in the News, please let us know by leaving a comment on the website or by emailing us at show@pacatalk.com. Also, email us
if you have news items you’d like us to include in the show.

Now, on to the news!

Alpaca Industry News

News from AOBA and ARI, mostly from their email blasts to members. These emails are not stored on these associations’ respective websites.

AOBA

June 1

As many of you are aware of by now, several of the AOBA websites are temporarily offline due to a malicious hacker attack that left most webpages on AlpacaInfo.com, AlpacaOwners.com and AlpacaShows.com severely compromised with a malicious code that could be downloaded to unsuspecting visitors to these websites.

And, in related news:

June 12

There has been a change in our staffing at AOBA’s home office in Nashville, Tennessee. We have replaced our Technology Manager, Richard Moore with an Information Technology Specialist to assist in getting our website, internal computers servers and email systems fully functional.

According to LUCY FARRAR on the
Alpacasite on Yahoo Groups:

My PCcillin virus protection software picked up a Trojan that I had received by using the AOBA website to register and pay for the conference. Others who have done this may want to watch out for this. It is identified as Troj-Agent.ARDA and from WorldPay_Confr.exe. [...]

Front Range Alpacas, LLC www.coloradoalpaca.com<http://www.coloradoalpaca.com/>

Thanks Lucy!

June 16

Deadline for Show Rules Comment – 2010 Handbook

Each year, the AOBA Show Rules Committee solicits comments of the current show rules from our  embership. Once received and organized, these comments are then reviewed and discussed by the  ommittee with subsequent recommendations being forwarded to the AOBA Board of Directors for approval.

The deadline for submitting comments is at midnight PT on June 30, 2009. All submissions should be  ade in writing and addressed to Margie Ault, the AOBA Show System Administrator at  Admin@aobashows.org.

June 17

AOBA Board of Directors - New Officers

At the June 15th meeting of the AOBA Board of Directors, the following Board officers were elected for the year 2009 - 2010. The officers are as follows:

• Bill Johnson, President
• Bill Pearce, Vice President
• David Barboza, Secretary
• Jess Bowers, Treasurer

Congratulations to the new officers!

Alpacas in Mainstream Media

June 7

Alpacas on Parade in the Capital City
WCAX -
Burlington,VT,USA
Almost two dozen llamas and alpacas marched down State Street. It’s the second llama parade to be held in Vermont. Organizers hoped the parade would draw …

June 10

Alpaca guard squad makes good
Weekly Times Now -
Southbank,Victoria,Australia
But rather than breed them, Roger Polkinghorne, a serious breeder of Merinos, employs the alpaca to guard ewes and lambs from foxes, dogs and other likely …

Things that make you go “Hmmmm?”

This is where I’m going to put all the quirky and weird alpaca stuff I come across.

An example from earlier this year would definitely be the alpaca/llama Starburst candy commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3kw7cRz4Ek.

Today, we have a casting call from a reality show:

June 10, 2009
http://www.realitywanted.com/call/4817-casting-weird-family-businesses

CASTING WEIRD FAMILY BUSINESSES
Realitywanted -
Phoenix,AZ,USA
Run an alpaca farm? Family of treasure hunters? If so, we want to hear from YOU! You must be logged in to view the full casting call and apply. …

Farm Shout-outs

I’m just going to read the farm names and states, but I’ll have links to the whole stories in the shownotes.

Alpacas in the News

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban buy four alpacas

http://lovelynicolekidman.com/article.asp?articleid=49351

Water-Cleaning Poo!

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/02/0205_0205TVllamadung.html

In Bolivia, water seeping from abandoned mines in the Andes is polluting the main water supply of La Paz, the capital city. But a team of researchers is developing a low-cost way to neutralize the acidic, metal-laden water through a highly unusual filter: llama droppings.

The former head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is enjoying retirement by raising alpacas and llamas in western Wisconsin.

http://content.usatoday.net/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=thereporter&sParam=30269625.story

Farm Talk

Sophie (our new black girl) was inured by being tangled in the fence.

Farm Basics - Tractors on the Alpaca Farm

What you need. What you don’t.

Main Topic- Inteview with Dr. Norm Evans

Interview took place May 2, 2009, in Woodburn, Oregon.

The Alpaca Field Guide 3rd edition

Dr. Evans’s supplements

Conclusion

This has been episode Number 8 of Paca Talk, the podcast for alpaca people by alpaca people. If you missed anything, check out our website at www.pacatalk.com. There are links to useful alpaca sites and good books for alpaca farmers of all experience levels. Music provided by Jim Soloway. Find him at http://www.jimsoloway.com/.

Alpacas in the News

1. “Grass-mud horse” article on the New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/12/world/asia/12beast.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

• YouTube link to “Grass-mud Horse” video. OBSCENE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKx1aenJK08

2. Starburst Alpaca Commercial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3kw7cRz4Ek

3. Baby Alpaca band http://www.myspace.com/babyalpacashow

Farm Talk

1. new baby! Unnamed Cabernet/Thomas of AJ cria. Boy. Brown

2. work in pastures

Main Topic—The Emergency Trip to the Vet

1. The Down Alpaca

2. Make an Emergency plan

3. Make a “Plan B”

4. Be prepared for “Plan C”

Conclusion

This has been episode Number 7 of Paca Talk, the podcast for alpaca people by alpaca people. If you missed anything, check out our website at www.pacatalk.com. There are links to useful alpaca sites and good books for alpaca farmers of all experience levels. Music provided by Jim Soloway. Find him at http://www.jimsoloway.com/.

In this episode, Maren interviews Peggy Stevens of at Tucker Creek Alpacas about taxes (including Section 179 and “bonus” depreciation), alpaca business plans, and, of course, alpacas.

Alpacas in the News

Year of Natural Fibers: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/265891

Alpacas at the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo: http://www.timescall.com/news_story.asp?ID=13868

The Lundbergs and the Alpaca Blankets Project: http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20090211/COMMUNITIES/902110424/1133

Peggy Stevens’s websites

Tucker Creek Alpacas: http://www.alpacadigest.com/
Alpaca Business Plan examples: http://www.alpacadigest.com/Business_Plan/business_plan.html
Peggy Stevens’s email: peggy@alpacadigest.com

IRS tax info

The 97 Questions you will have to answer if you are audited are at the end of this document: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-mssp/a1farmls.pdf

Music

As always, music provided by Jim Soloway. Find him at http://www.jimsoloway.com/.

• UC Davis Llama and Alpaca Health Care Symposium http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=8912
• Alpaca caps keep troops warm http://www.mlive.com/news/saginawnews/index.ssf?/base/news-28/1229613615294860.xml&coll=9
  • WABA did something similar with alpaca socks last year
• CBS News alpaca story from Dec. 1, 2008. “Investing In Something ‘Stable’” http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/12/01/eveningnews/main4641489.shtml

Farm Talk

1. New girls out of quarantine.
2. SNOW!
3. buying hay $285/ton!

Farm Basics — Spitting

Main Topic—Winter

Feedback - No feedback.

Conclusion

This has been episode Number 5 of Paca Talk, the podcast for alpaca people by alpaca people. If you missed anything, check out our website at www.pacatalk.com. There are links to useful alpaca sites and good books for alpaca farmers of all experience levels. Music provided by Jim Soloway. Find him at http://www.jimsoloway.com/.