Rural Trader Blogs

Alpaca Association New Zealand 2009 Conference Part 2

While Richard and I were away at the conference we made plans to visit as many alpaca breeders as we could fit in before we needed to depart the area.  I would like to recommend this practice to all breeders and anyone interested in getting into alpacas.  We always pick up useful tips from the farms we visit whether they are large studs or just pet alpaca owners. I also find that while we are there, we pass on useful tips of our own to help them solve any issues they may be facing.  I think it is wonderful the way the people in the alpaca industry are so open to helping each other in this manner.  On the whole, I have found alpaca owners to be a friendly bunch of people.  

Please enjoy some more photos from our South Island trip. These gorgeous sunrise photos were taken while crossing on the Ferry from Picton to Wellington by my husband Richard.    

PART 2 - Summary notes from the Alpaca Association New Zealand 2009 Conference.    

Peter Howe - Australian Scientist  

Peter spoke on Fully Potential Semen and its relation to Semen Quality as a Genetic Determinant.  Once again I was sceptical about whether this was a topic I was really going to be able to relate to, and once again I am pleased to say I was pleasantly surprised.  Peter discussed with us his research into Horses, Goats, Sheep and Cattle sperm and how much the quality of the sperm varies according to the seasonal changes in our calendar year.  In the Ram or Bulls "off season" the important proteins in their semen have been greatly reduced causing very elevated levels of  poor quality semen to be present, which can then result in lower rates of pregnancy and full term live and healthy births.  If the pregnancy does result in a live birth the quality of the animal in terms of fibre or meat can be adversely affected, where as, if the same mating took place at the ram or bulls peak season for producing healthy semen, then there is a very low incidence of genetically deficient semen present and the resulting pregnancy and offspring would generally be of a far superior quality.   Not enough research has been done yet to determine if all of this can be applied to alpacas but he sees no reason why it can't.  We just have to figure out what time of the year is the optimal time to do our matings.  A few of the larger breeders present at the seminar were able to pin-point, without too much thought at all, which time of the year matings "took" right off and when 2nd or 3rd tries became more the norm before success was achieved, so maybe there is something to this "Fully Potentiated Semen" theory and we as breeders should pool our resources and information to ascertain just when this optimum breeding time would be here in New Zealand.   Food for thought.

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Peri Drysdale - Pioneer and New Zealander of the Year  

Peri founded Snowy Peak Ltd with exports into Japan, Europe, North America, Asia and Australia.  She also developed the Merinomink TM and Untouched World TM.  In 2000 she established The Untouched World Charitable Trust which focuses on Leadership Education.  She has won many awards over the years for her achievements in both business but also in promoting Sustainable Business models.  

Peri spoke about starting and growing an export company from $200 with no business experience at all, going from 10 - 500 knitters in the first four years, and some of her experiences, challenges and wins she had bringing a new natural fibre to the market.  Her story was both interesting and inspiring.  It had not been an easy road her Peri and her family to have travelled, but to hear of her tenacity and go get-em attitude was encouraging to many, especially as we are all going through tough economic times at present.  Peri believes firmly in eco-friendly, sustainable farming, products, and business practices.  Near the end of her talk with us she popped up a power point that has stuck with me and made me think. It reads simply. . . .  We are living on this planet as if we have another to go to!!!

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Paul Garland - Long time alpaca breeder - Bought some of the first alpacas to arrive in NZ  

Paul spoke on the NZ Alpaca - is this a work in progress and do we still have the vision. Why did the early pioneers of alpaca see them as such a good investment?  

*    Alpaca fibre had a history of being one of the softest and more luxurious exotic fibres in the world  

*    Alpaca was rare (compared with sheep) and in limited supply (both fibre and animals)  

*    NZ had a world-class reputation in the production of high quality wool and was without doubt, the best place to develop the alpaca as a world-class fibre producer 

*    Alpaca fibre is a luxury item 

The vision was very strong.  They could see the potential, but knew it would take many years.  The plan was for NZ to develop a truly unique alpaca, producing the highest quality fibre in the world.  The NZ alpaca has evolved a long way, but it is still very much a work in progress.  The top 1% - 2% of our national alpaca herd is reaching equality with those other major fine fibre producers, so the challenge is now for us to integrate these superior fleece characteristics across the rest of our national alpaca herd.  The ultimate fibre goal for the NZ Alpaca should be to produce an Ultra Fine fleece along the following lines.  

*    fleece uniformity of under 15 microns (definitely under 20 microns)  

*    standard deviation (SD) of under 1.5  

*    comfort factor (CF) of 100%  

*    CV of 15%

We are very much still in the breeding phase of the industry.  Before we get into volume production we must continue to refine.  Always use the best genetics, don't breed from less desirable stock (both male and female), and breed for uniformity.  We can only achieve this if we use all the tools available to us and in most cases this is going to mean we need to spend more money, continually improving the top end quality of our herds.