New Zealand Alpaca April 2013 by NZ Alpaca

MAGAZ IN IAL E IC

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April 2013

MAGAZI NE IAL IC OF

OF F

April 2013

Inside this issue…

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Alpaca Fleece in New Zealand Part II: The Collectors MAGAZIN IAL E IC

Jenny Durno

New Fibre Test for Genetic Selection

Paul Vallely

Design Spun Processing COVER PHOTO: ?????

Robyn Anderson

Rumpelstiltskin – Suri Fibre Classing and Baling Days

Hermione Richards

Ultrafine Alpaca – Nature's Luxury

National Alpaca Day

Paul Vallely

Kit Johnson

Alpaca 2013: World Conference and Expo

Jenny Durno

21st Century Livestock

Julie McClen

A Pilot Iodine Response Study in Alpacas in Canterbury – An Iodine Deficient Area in New Zealand

Monique Koning

Science Corner: A Summary of Recent Findings

Sarah Busby

Alpacas in Germany: A Growing Business

Herbert Ruch

Alpaca Exports to Europe: It Sounds Complicated – Is it only for the Big Boys?

Kit Johnson

The Murray Bruce Import

Kit Johnson

Quechua Benefit: The Other Path

Mike Safley

A Day in the Life

Sarah Busby; Debbie Wallace; Mark and Mary-Ann Pruden

Alpacas Play Their Part in an Integrated Farming System

Sue Richards

150th Canterbury A & P Show

Anne Rogers

Assume Nothing

Heather Goffin

Double Trouble

Wayne and Sandra Allison

New Member Profile

Jenny Durno

Advertising Breeder Profile

Jenny Durno

Ask the Vet

Monique Koning New Zealand Alpaca is printed on paper derived from resources which are managed to ensure their renewability for generations to come.

Editor magazine@alpaca.org.nz

Website www.alpaca.org.nz

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Robyn Anderson – Southern Region Rep. southernrep@alpaca.org.nz Ros Scott – Central Region Rep. centralrep@alpaca.org.nz Mary-Ann Pruden – Northern Region Rep. northernrep1@alpaca.org.nz Willem Alblas – Northern Region Rep. northernrep2@alpaca.org.nz

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“By participating in National Alpaca Day, you gain good publicity for your stud farm, make sales or create potential sales, attract new members and ultimately draw more new members to show their animals at shows.”

Message from the President What a wonderful summer we have all had, the best in many a year – now many of us will be praying for rain for our parched pastures. With shearing and haymaking behind us all, it is almost show time again with the autumn show season upon us. Remember that participating in the A & P shows is one of the cheapest forms of advertising and promotion that you can undertake. Get your banners up and bring along your brochures and advertising material so that when the public walk amongst the animal pens, they will be attracted to your site. So many of our members saw their first alpacas at an A & P show and yet most of us (me included) spend all our time talking to fellow exhibitors and ignore strangers admiring your animals in their pens. I know for a fact that some of these so-called strangers have gone on and spent tens of thousands of dollars buying alpacas – where were you???

There are some great international speakers booked for the conference and do not forget the workshop sessions which give the delegates plenty of choice in selecting a topic of interest. This conference provides a wonderful opportunity to meet some wonderful people from all over the world who all have a common interest in alpacas, their welfare and their future. It is so important that New Zealand turns it on for the international alpaca community – please help us to help you. The potential for exports and international trade are enormous. Come and be seen, make new friends and let’s all make our alpaca world a better place.

Kit Johnson President, AANZ

National Alpaca Day is the major publicity event of the year and despite the 50% subsidy (with conditions) on media advertising I am surprised we do not get a greater uptake from the membership. If you read the Winter 2012 alpaca magazine you will see that nearly all the members that participated, had great turnouts and some good sales. By participating in National Alpaca Day, you gain good publicity for your stud farm, make sales or create potential sales, attract new members and ultimately draw more new members to show their animals at shows. It is all positive stuff all of which we need plenty of to ensure success in the alpaca industry. The World Alpaca Conference (WAC) including our National Show and the World international Fleece Show is fast approaching – just five months to go. New Zealand has waited six years to host this prestigious event and it will be many long years before we get another opportunity. Your working group for the WAC have been doing a stirling job behind the scenes to ensure that this will be one of the best conferences yet. We know that there is very strong interest from Australia and my enquiries in Europe all suggest a good turnout of international visitors. Sponsorship and trade sites can be booked online now and there are some great deals – refer to the www.alpacaexpo.co.nz website for details. 3

Patagonia Celtic Rising Sun ET FINE FAWN GENETICS

Photos courtesy of Robert Gane-Canchones

At 6yrs of age, Rising Sun has it all:

Show Successes:

• Fineness (<20µ) • Comfort Factor (98.3%) • Density (69.8 follicles per mm2) • Staple length (120mm)

• Supreme Fawn - Victoria Colourbration 2009 & 2010 • Champion Senior Male - Sydney Royal 2009 • Reserve Champion Intermediate Male - Progeny AAA 2011 • Shamarra Roaring Meg ET (Rising Sun daughter) Supreme Brown Champion at Victoria Colourbration 2012

www.shamarra-alpacas.co.nz 4

Frank & Anya Walkington | 03 304 5141 | info@shamarra-alpacas.co.nz

Alpaca Fleece

in New Zealand

PART II : THE COLLECTORS by Jenny Durno

The phone only rang once before it was answered brightly, “NZ Alpaca Fibre, can I help you?” “Yes, please, I have just shorn my 10 alpacas and I would like to sell the fleece. I haven’t done it before so I am not sure how to go about it.” “Certainly, that’s not a problem. Have you classed it?” “Yes, we have bags of white and bags of mid-fawn. Well, it’s sort of nearly brown, really…” “Have you sorted out the microns, the lengths?” “Um, microns. No. But the shearer told us not to put the short bits off the floor in the bags.” “That’s cool. We will class it for you and let you know what you have. The payments will vary between $5 and $40 per kg depending on quality, okay? We have a big order of 60 tonnes which is nearly complete. We will pop most of yours in there and give you a report.” “Oh, and my wife would like to knit some of the brown. Can we have the yarn back from our fleece?” “Sure, we will take the processing cost into account and ship that back to you as soon as possible. Where can we pick up?” Then the alarm clock went off and the lovely dream floated away.

The Reality You are probably reading this magazine because you have alpacas. Whatever the reason for getting into alpacas, you now have fleece animals, and therefore you have fleece. I wanted to bring you an up to date explanation of what is happening with the fleece in New Zealand and to contribute to the on-going conversation about our progress towards a true New Zealand alpaca fleece industry. I identified four parties in the New Zealand alpaca fleece story: 1. The Growers. There are between 700 and 1200 owners of alpacas in New Zealand, depending on whether you go by the number of registered members or the estimates which include pet owners who have not registered. There are 15,000 to 20,000 animals, so the average number per owner is 15 – 20 animals. If each animal produces 2.5 – 3. kg of fleece that’s about 45 – 50 tonnes per year. Suris comprise a maximum of 100 of these owners with 2, 500 animals. Averages don’t tell the full story as we know, but suffice to

say that not one Grower in New Zealand has enough animals to supply a viable fleece market on their own. 2. The Collectors. These are the people who have seen a need for someone to get the fleece to the processors who need minimum quantities for commercial runs, including overseas customers. Some people are Growers AND Collectors; these are the people who have reduced their processing costs by collecting fleece from others to make up the minimum quantities. 3. The Processors. The larger mills will process fleece presented to them by the Collectors. The smaller mills provide a service for the Growers who do not participate in the collection and processing of the larger quantities. The supply of services is inadequate for the demand for processing, so there is very little pressure on prices charged. To allow the prices to escalate as they should with our small and difficult quantities, we need end users who are prepared to pay a premium. We find we need to use all our charm just to be allowed to get the stuff through the mills. 4. The Consumers. As with any industry, the Consumers should be at the top of this list and a priority in our discussions. There are two categories of customer: a. Retail: those who will pay extra for an alpaca product. We normally think of luxury garments but this includes blankets, carpets and duvets. b. The Collectors: What are they collecting and why? Most of us can differentiate between ‘The Insulation Guys’ and the high fashion houses of Italy, but who else are the Collectors working for and what do they want? In the last issue of New Zealand Alpaca I reported on my discussions with a number of Growers. We heard how some enterprising people were getting their fleeces through the system from animal to retail sales. We heard what we expected – that we have about 1000 people doing about 100 different things. They are having fun and making some money, but they only represent a part of the potential New Zealand Alpaca Fibre Industry. This time I want to talk about the Collectors. Next issue I will talk about the Processors, and any input is greedily welcomed. Ideally we should also talk about the Consumers too. (In fact, ideally we should never stop talking to the Consumers.) 5

Grower/Collectors It makes sense for growers faced with a minimum requirement for economical processing to bring in the fleece from other growers to make up the bigger bale. The more people involved, the more complicated it all becomes, so once there is enough fleece to make a bale, the focus turns to getting the yarn back, turned into something and sold on. I have talked to a number of breeders, mainly at shows, about what they doing with their fleece. Most shrug; it’s in the shed – we gave the last lot to ‘the insulation people’ and we eventually got a small cheque that was nothing to get excited about. Did you sort it first? Oh yes, we kept out the show fleeces. But have you done anything with the better blanket parts of the rest of the shearing? Nah, too expensive to process. Did you know that there are people paying good money for sub 20 micron fleeces, sorted? Another shrug. Means sorting it and we just don’t have time. Nic Cooper of Southern Alpacas has long been a passionate advocate for turning fleece into a commercial viability and to this end he is happy to talk - again. Much of our conversation included sad shaking of the head; we have been here so many times… Southern Alpacas is an example of a Grower/Collector; they are out there buying in fine micron, sorted fleece (they pay $30 per kg) and adding it to their own clip, which they process into yarn to sell online or at shows and markets, and into clothing items, also sold retail. Nic knows there is more fleece available and he despairs at the apathy shown by breeders in the face of falling animal prices.

Collectors I have used this term deliberately and we should pause here to consider the difference between working with a cooperative, using a ‘broker’ and selling to a ‘buyer.’ Previous attempts at bringing together larger quantities of fleece have ended in disappointment. Alpaca owners invited to participate in pooling fleece to bring down the cost of processing lost money and/or felt let down by the quality of the yarn that came back. ‘Other people’s fleece’ let down the batch. Australia has had trouble with the cooperative model, which has now been bought by someone outside Australia, complete with their Quality Mark. Not many believe that we have something that would enable us to do a better job than our respected cousins in Australia. At present the alternative to anything that looks like a cooperative or a pooling initiative is a broker, although Jonathan Heap, Wadsworth Heap says that he is now buying some batches outright, sensitive to the wariness of his customers if they have to wait too long for a pay-out while he ‘finds a home’ for fleece he has collected from them. In the main his customers are looking for 26 – 30 micron white fleece at 3 – 5 inches (75 – 125 mm) although he is collecting anything people want to share. Because the competition is not for the best we can breed. The ready market for alpaca fleece at the moment is for what the wool people call ‘shorts.’ Not the best and finest, but the most consistent seconds. ‘Uniformity’ as the judges say in the ring, is a commercial reality. Taking into account the cost of sorting, rates for these seconds settle at about $10 for the best cuts and $2 for the rubbish, although everyone is vaguely promising more money when possible. It pays to sort out your 6

own rubbish, if not actually classing the whole clip, because it is you who will lose out if it all gets tipped into the $2 fadge. John Carr of Pacific Alpacas is in the market for any Huacaya fleece and has proudly accumulated over 20,000kgs in the past three years. He sells most of it to New Zealand mills and some overseas. This year he reports that his biggest demand was for white fleece 22 – 26 micron, 3.5 – 4 inches (90 – 100 mm) and he is frustrated to hear that people are holding back finer fleeces for higher prices. ‘We are told a lot is sold at $35 – 55 per kg but I have never seen any proof!’ John tells me that scalability is the biggest problem for the industry, with his buyers for example only interested in 200+ kg bales. With so many smaller breeders, collection, scouring, sorting and freight is a problem with added cost. The cost of scouring is predictable, if high, but the main challenges with this part of the process is accumulating the scourers’ minimum runs of 400 kg and waiting for their timetable as anything other than white needs essentially a total clean out after processing. They will only run what they regard as ‘hairy alpaca’ just before they clean the machines. A tonne goes through in about 20 minutes – hardly worth gearing up for from their perspective with a plant that runs 24/7. Andy Nailard, Flagstaff Alpacas, wants 35 – 75 mm white and light fawn for his joint venture partners making duvets, and the micron doesn’t matter; in fact cria fleeces too tender to process are ideal. 55 – 75 mm blends well with nylon to make carpets. Andy is noting some competition in the market for the fleece he is after. He has to work at keeping his key suppliers but until he can persuade the duvet people to put the prices up he can’t pay more. ‘It’s a supply chain thing. My partner can sell as many duvets as they can make. But they won’t promote them until they know the fleece is available to fill the orders. Until they sell more, they won’t put the price up and I can’t source more fleece. Once they do, I will be back with a higher offer.’ He will visit and do the sorting as long as his clients have at least 50 animals in one place. Andy is a shareholder with Bruce Woollen Mills and some of his fleece goes there for processing. He told me that it was too early to report an annual tonnage through the mill but they were making progress. The <20 micron fleece presents issues as it is too fine for New Zealand processors, although he too agrees that it is too good to waste and is storing fine fleece ‘until a solution is found.’ Lindsay Riddle, Sherlin Alpaca, set out to make supplying fleece as easy as he could for alpaca people – initially as a non-profitable service which he says has provided a ‘floor’ for the fleece market. He takes everything, unsorted, and pays $3.00 per kg for it – 26,000 tonnes in four years - and maintains he is still the only Collector in New Zealand to guarantee payment. (Although ‘Collector’ is a misnomer – Lindsay’s suppliers need to drop off their fleeces. It is just not cost effective to be collecting it.) When he has 1.5 – 2 tonne he sells it all to Wool Technologies (WT) and pays his suppliers, six weekly in the summer and every few months in winter. He reminds us that in a container of 90 bales of wool overseas, one bale might be alpaca rovings. And while individuals get $100 here and there, he points out that WT has put $60,000 into the alpaca industry, in spite of it being a minority fibre. Philippa Wright is the North Island agent for WT and while she is passionate about wool she admits that her alpaca experience is limited. ‘It’s a new industry for everybody.’ However she is aware of the importance to suppliers of a

guaranteed payment – she buys the fleece. She takes the fleece as is - ‘people bring it in bags with the alpaca’s name on it!’ and repacks it according to colour and length. Micron doesn’t matter at this point – WT looks after that. She finds that alpaca people can get emotional about their product, proclaiming it to be better than their neighbours.’ (It’s not, it’s all the same.) Her advice is to get in behind the industry personally and make things happen – don’t wait for someone up the food chain, and realise how small New Zealand is. Even the mighty wool industry concentrates its education and promotion on the other side of the world where the big populations are. What does WT do with it? Duvets, carpet, upholstery. What about fabric? Lindsay: ‘Frankly some alpaca people need to get off their high horse. You get 20 tonnes of sub 20 micron white fibre and someone to drive it and you might have a start.’ Andy Nailard agrees: ‘We are the problem. There are 1000 owners and all of us want someone else to stand up and create the market and the infrastructure to get the fleece through the supply chain. Someone needs to step up and own the whole vertical supply chain. We have some clever business people in the Alpaca Association, but clever with what skills?’ According to Andy we need someone with ‘a clean book and deep pockets.’ They then need to buy in the appropriate skills, many of which are being lost as mill after mill closes.

Fine Alpaca Fabric Some Suri people have put their hands up to spearhead a drive towards commercial production of fabric. Having proved you could produce wonderful 100% Suri fabric with the Surrissimo project, (also known as the Lincoln University Project) they are now focusing on the Rumplestiltskin Project. Hermione Richards, Surico, is going to write a full report for this magazine on their progress to date, but I understand that they are working with 22 – 24 micron, 80 – 140 mm long fleece. ‘Uniformity’ – there is that word again – is recognised as being vital and to that end educating the Growers is key. In the short term, classing sessions and lessons in identifying different qualities of fibre is allowing the team to accumulate 60 kg of appropriate fleece in New Zealand, supplemented with 110 kg from Australia so far. But it goes back not just to breeding the right animals but to farm management. Knowing when to shear, who not to shear, how to shear, how to sort, class, store… all of these activities affect the outcome of the final combined product. Hermione told me that the whole supply chain matters. The mills don’t like trying something new and because we have small quantities the costs will be higher, so the end price has to be there. That means the quality has to be there from the start. ‘And alpaca people have a reluctance to bring in experts. Are we farmers, processors, marketers? We can’t be good at everything.’ Have we got the knowledge available in New Zealand? We have been told that the bigger processors can’t even process anything less than 20 microns. So why persevere in trying to breed for the finer fleeces? Won’t we end up selling it overseas with the result that the Chinese can calibrate their machines in time to process the fleece they will get off the animals we are hoping to sell to them? Jonathan Heap is still sad about the closure of the family spinning mill 10 years ago. But the textile knowledge is still there, and so are the relationships with the overseas processors who can make this finer fabric. He makes an

offer: ‘You bring me a 500 kg of sub 20 kg fleece – donate it to the cause – and I will put in the knowledge, the time and the miles to bring it together.’ He warns that we may well get a retailer to requisition cloth for a line of top quality garments to a narrow specification in one year, then find that the requirement changes in the following year. But once a market is aware of say, fine knitted alpaca in natural colours, they will be back, even if it is for a variation of style. And finding that market is not our job – his contacts will do that. All we have to do is keep the supply of fine fleeces coming. Jonathan has noticed that the proportion of seconds to better fibre he is collecting is much higher than that experienced in Peru. Do we have inferior fleece, or are we holding back the blankets? Certainly the New Zealand herd is getting older as people hold back from breeding, so the micron average is increasing, but we agreed that we knew of a number of examples of people holding back their best fleeces ‘for something better.’ Lindsay Riddle: ‘Unusually, I had an order for a specific (low) micron range. Of the stock of nearly 600 kg I had at the time, only 80 kg was suitable.’ Luckily for Lindsay and other Collectors the existing market is for the higher micron fleeces and luckily for the Growers, the Collectors are now competing on price and service. But there is more work to do if we want a market for the finer micron fleeces we are so keen to breed for.

New Zealand Alpaca Brand John Carr admits that rather than working towards a quality New Zealand Alpaca brand our national clip is more likely to come back as part of ‘Great Wall of China Alpaca.’ Jonathan Heap agrees, but points out that ‘Country of Origin’ is becoming less important and perhaps we should be aspiring to being recognised as a reliable supplier of uniform bands of fleece whose quality is increasing each year. Of course if we make an overseas market for ourselves and Peru notices, we will be undercut immediately… Most of the Collectors and many Growers I spoke to agreed that as an industry we need to find a commercial way to cull the older animals to keep improving the quality of the national clip, especially if we can’t individually afford to carry more total numbers on our properties. Collectors were noticeably more prepared to talk about the fate of these animals in commercial terms than the Growers. Indeed as an exercise in seeing ourselves as others see us, this enquiry revealed that we are seen as pet owners obsessed with showing, with an over inflated impression of our ability to manage ourselves into a viable fleece industry based on disparate experiences in other unrelated business environments. Whoa! But if we want to realise the dream of creating metres of soft creamy fabric to be made into highly sort after and expensive garments, we needed to be clear about our ability to meet any demand we eventually create. A critique of our national clip needs to read like a champion in a fleece show: ‘Showing consistency of micron and length across the fleece, with soft handle and a lack of guard hair or colour contamination. Well skirted and presented.’ Next issue we will talk about what the processors are doing. If you have strong opinions about anything we have produced here, or you think we have missed something, please step forward. We are a small Association and we invite everyone to be part of this conversation. Write to editor@alpaca.org.nz 7

New Fibre Test for

Genetic Selection by Paul Vallely

It could be argued that selecting breeding stock for fibre production can be like trying to pick the winner of the Melbourne Cup three years in advance. Many breeders will testify that attempting to predict how progeny will perform based on observable traits of the sire and dam can be extremely frustrating. The effects from environmental influences can be one of the greatest hindrances to predicting which phenotype traits of breeding stock will pass onto their progeny. It can be argued that a sire or dam’s fibre traits will be influenced by environmental factors as much as they are influenced by genetics. Given many breeders rely heavily on fibre testing to select breeding stock, how can we decipher which parts of the fibre test results have a chance of being passed onto a breeding animal’s progeny, and which are nothing more than a reflection of what has passed down the animal’s throat. There is a solution. Recent advances in fibre measurement technology now mean we can isolate the genetic aspects of one of the key fibre traits – fibre diameter variability.

Firstly, the question of why is fibre diameter variability such a big deal? To effectively compete in today’s apparel markets, natural fibres need to feel soft against the skin. Any significant evidence of coarse or prickly fibres will result in substantial discounts or may not be tolerated at all. This is particularly the case for the potentially lucrative ‘high-end’ apparel markets. In addition to this, a high variation of fibre diameter may result in irregularities in the various stages of processing. This problem leads to eventual cost inefficiencies and inferior end-product. A major fibre processor recently agreed to this in stating ‘it didn’t matter whether they were primary or secondary fibres, medullated fibres, kemp, guard hair or whatever else – if there was a high level of coarse fibres, the raw product could be rendered irrelevant’. 8

It has been continually shown that this problem is not so much a result of fleece classing. It is mainly due to the fact that the offending fibres are found right throughout the fleeces. This has been noticed with the fleeces for the alpaca ultrafine bale scheme. Although they represent the most superior fleeces to be found in Australia and are subjected to a most fastidious classing procedure, we are still finding far too many coarse fibres in the consignments. The message is clear – to improve our product, breed out coarse fibres. The best method to identify fleeces with coarse fibres is to determine the extent to which the diameter of individual fibres vary on the fleece. A higher than normal variation will pinpoint fleeces with higher than normal amount of coarse fibres. A further aspect of fibre diameter variation is that research (Vic DPI 2007) indicates animals with low variation measurements are more likely to have less variation in fibre diameter over the whole fleece. Our own experience supports this research. In other words, by breeding for low diameter variation, not only does the fibre become more valuable, there becomes more useable fleece on the respective animals. Anecdotal evidence also suggests these animals are less prone to ‘micron blow-out’ as they age. Animals with low fibre diameter variation, therefore, offer immense scope for improving genetic performance for fleece production.

How then do we identify these superior animals? I should mention at this stage, that we use Standard Deviation (SD) as it is the true measurement of variation. Coefficient of variation (CV) increases or decreases as a result of the mean’s value. And now for some good news – in this case, we have Mother Nature working on our side. Fortunately, variability of fibre diameter is a highly heritable trait and therefore it is relatively easy to achieve genetic improvement. Reported at about 40% heritability on sheep, it is not as high as ‘average fibre diameter’ (reported at about 55%), but high compared to many other traits (NSW DPI 1990). How then do we differentiate between the genetic component of fibre diameter SD from the environmental component so we can rely on the fibre test results when selecting breeding stock.

This fact is best explained by looking at the two forms of variation in a fibre sample: Firstly, there is the variation along the fibre. This variation is created by the ever changing levels of nutrition reaching the follicles. High nutrition such as flush spring feed will increase diameter while drought or heavy worm burden will result in a decrease in diameter. This variation along the fibre is therefore created by environmental influences. The variation in diameter along individual fibres is normally 2 to 6 microns. The second form of variation is between the individual fibres in a fibre bundle or staple. Depending upon the breed of animal, some fibres might be 20 microns finer than the coarser fibres in the one staple. The variation between the fibres in the one bundle or staple is primarily the result of variation in the follicle traits of the animal. While the eventual follicle traits will be influenced by pre and post natal nutrition, the foundation upon which these follicle traits are determined is genetically influenced. It is this form of variation that holds an important key to selecting breeding stock for fibre production. The SD measurements normally found in fibre test results is the amalgamation of both forms of variation. These results, therefore, are a cocktail of both ‘along’ and ‘between’ fibre variation. The noise created by the environmentally influenced ‘along fibre variation’ reduces the effectiveness with which we could use this trait in selecting breeding stock. Fibre testing, however, has just got a lot better. We are now able to differentiate between ‘along fibre variation’ from ‘between fibre variation’. The data generated by the program is therefore able to isolate fibre diameter variation that is influenced by environmental factors from that influenced by genetic factors. To illustrate this form of testing, 6 alpacas were tested using the new program. The results are contained in table 1. As with all measurements of SD, the higher the value, the greater the degree of variation. It should also be mentioned that this breeder has successfully bred for low SD and therefore, the figures are lower than average. From table 1, we can see that alpacas 2, 3 & 4 experienced greater variation in nutritional intake owing to their ‘along fibre’ SD. Alpacas 5 & 6 have greater variation between fibres and probably, greater variation across the fleece. Compared to other alpacas of relatively similar micron, these two would have more coarse fibres and consequently, inferior fleeces.

(A)

(B)

Diameter of alpaca fibres vary in two ways: (A) Along the fibre influenced by external factors. (B) Between the individual fibres influenced by genetic traits such as change in nutrition.

For the purpose of this example, alpaca 4 is of interest to us. This alpaca had the highest overall SD reading (& second highest CV reading). Normally, we would have discounted this alpaca for high variation based on these results. The information from this new program, however, reveals a different story. Alpaca 4 had a high overall SD because of the abnormally high variation in nutrition it was exposed to. The ‘along fibre’ variation was a mighty 1.65 microns – clearly above the average. The variation between the fibres, however, was a very respectable 3.07 microns. In other words, this alpaca is genetically sound in so far as it’s fibre diameter variation. It would have little variation over the fleece, genetically capable of producing superior fleeces, but above all, likely to breed progeny that are capable of producing superior fleeces. The true breeding potential of this animal would have been camouflaged using the existing method of fibre testing. I might add that this is not an uncommon event. With the use of this technology, we are identifying many superior animals that might have otherwise been culled. I should also stress that interpreting any fibre test results requires experience as the issue of fibre metrology is far from being a case of ‘black and white’. It should be noted that a number of alpaca studs in Australia and the UK are now using this testing as part of their alpaca sire selection criteria. In the future, in may be the case that ‘between fibre’ variation is routinely used by breeders. In the mean-time, some of our best breeding stock may be going unnoticed.

Table 1. Animal

Avg diameter

Overall SD

Overall CV

‘Along fibre’ SD

‘Between fibre’ SD

17.27

3.53

20.4

0.86

3.14

Alpaca 2

23.1

3.76

16.27

1.4

2.87

Alpaca 3

20.81

4.12

1.22

3.15

Alpaca 4

21.89

4.43

20.23

1.65

3.07

Alpaca 5

23.23

4.21

18.12

0.66

4.15

Alpaca 6

21.57

3.75

17.38

0.77

3.45

Goat 1

16.17

5.1

31.5

0.47

4.74

Goat 2

17.59

5.58

31.7

0.91

5.14

Sheep 1

16.1

3.63

22.54

.73

3.54

Sheep 2

17.1

2.77

16.2

.79

2.59

Sheep 3

16.7

3.12

18.68

.97

3.05

Sheep 4

18.7

3.65

18.98

1.55

3.02

Alpaca 1

Design Spun Processing by Robyn Anderson

In the early 1970’s a motivated group of forward thinking Perendale sheep farmers saw the potential of ‘adding value’ to their raw product. Design Spun was conceived and began it’s life processing coarser Perendale wool for carpets. Over time the business moved direction to processing finer yarns and then went on to create craft yarns. New markets were established causing the operation to expand quickly with staff levels jumping from 5 to 70. 1984 saw the business move to the site in Napier it still occupies today. Ian Kelly, technical director, direct from Ireland built and commissioned the entire plant. Ian remains there today overseeing the day to day function in his role of technical director. I spoke to Peter Chatterton, the energetic and enthusiastic sales director of Design Spun, who joined the company in 1979. Peter has been part of the rapid expansion within this sector of the textile industry and also the dramatic changes resulting from free trade agreements and the ever cheaper imports. The company currently employs 15 staff and Peter is very happy to report that they are “in the best space we have ever been on every front”. This means staff are reliable and skilled, they enjoy their work, and that productivity, product range, technical ability, performance, their place in the industry, and profitability are all high functioning. Design Spun has been processing alpaca fibre for approximately 18 years now, and around twelve years ago they secured equipment specifically suited to the processing of alpaca fibre. 10

“In our experience alpaca fibre continues to be the most challenging natural fibre to process for two reasons. Those reasons are the animal’s love of the dust bath, and the high propensity of the fibre to shed moisture quickly” comments Peter. Peter describes their craft business as ‘private label contract spinners’. “All we require from our customers is the yarn style they require, that is the thickness or ply (or tex), colour required, and any packaging and labelling requirements if applicable. We can do the rest”. “We will take the artwork and create the labelling and packaging. We take the fibre, or we can source fibre if necessary, blend it with other fibres, spin it into whatever thickness or style the customer specifies, dye it generally in 50kg lots, create balls, cones or hanks, package and label it, all to our customer’s specifications”. The other market sectors serviced are in homewares, weaving, hosiery and knitwear manufacturing. “One of the strengths of the company is its versatility and product range which while it can be a challenge for our production controllers, maintains that ‘specialty’ focus and consequently sustains year round production”. The plant is a worsted spinning plant, and can produce worsted, modified worsted, fancy textured and brushed yarns in a wide range of sizes. Peter explains the difference between the woollen and the worsted process as “in simple terms the woollen spinning process is a short fibre process using the steps of blending, carding and spinning to intermingle the fibres. The worsted process aims to lay the fibres parallel and create a finished fabric that is clean, with very clear stitch definition. This system demands 8 – 14 steps to that process giving a refined end product”.

For conventional yarns, that is yarns held together solely by twist, the minimum quantity requirement for processing is 250kg nett. Fancy yarns such as boucle, brushed and textured yarns are held together using cores and binders. Minimum quantities for these yarns are 150kg depending on style. Design Spun can spin 100% alpaca but their years of experience leads them to recommend adding at least a small percentage of wool to the yarn. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We can blend fibres and even a small percentage of wool will assist with fibre retention (shedding) of alpaca and give some bulk to the finished productâ&#x20AC;?. Currently, approximately 50% of yarn spun is for the handcraft / handknitters market, 30% for woven finished products, usually mohair or alpaca blends, and the remaining 20% of production is for special projects including hosiery, knitwear and some craft products.

Skeinz.com is a fun and informative website set up 3 years ago by the team at Design Spun. Here they market their own brand of yarn targeting the northern hemisphere markets to offset or balance the seasonal nature of the craft market. Alpaca and alpaca blends are well represented. New blends and new products are always being researched. Currently the team are working on a Heritage range of breed specific yarns such as Polworth and Merino. Perhaps they will go full circle â&#x20AC;&#x201C; with Perendale. Design Spun welcomes all enquiries regarding the processing of alpaca fibre for whatever end use can be construed.

Contact Peter Chatterton Phone: 06 843 3174 Email: peter@designspun.co.nz

Rumpelstiltskin

Suri Fibre Classing and Baling Days by Hermione Richards - Surico Alpaca

Suri produce a rare beautiful fibre unlike that from any other animal. The best known Suri trait is the outstanding natural lustre making it able to achieve effects in the finished product that require chemical treatments on other fibres. Less obvious to the naked eye the structure of the Suri fibre shaft is very smooth with a lower scale relief than most fibres, this translates directly into the exquisite silky handle of the fibre. While these qualities and its uniqueness give Suri fibre tremendous value, it also means there is very little known about the best way to process it and there is often a reluctance to try with Suri as it is something new.

The Rumpelstiltskin project was looking for a tight specification of white Suri with an average micron of 22.0µ to 23.9 µ, an SD under 5µ, and length 80mm – 140mm. The amount of variation in the fibre has an impact of the handle of the final product so it was important to keep specifications tight. As there was a certain amount of cost and time involved in setting up and executing these weekends for both the organisers and the breeders, it was decided to class and collect all grades of Suri fibre with the hope that buyers or other projects might be found for the specifications not required by Rumpelstiltskin. In total 63 classes were available.

The “Surissimo” trial, completed in 2010 went a long way to raising the profile of Suri fibre and dispelling the myth that “you can’t process Suri fibre”. The success of Surissimo was the momentum behind Rumpelstiltskin, a project designed to take the next step in processing Suri and test the commercial processing options available in New Zealand today. A grant from the Sustainable Farming Fund (SFF) has been secured for the project that will include fibre collection, scouring, spinning, weaving and most importantly education and support for Suri breeders. The first stage of fibre collection took place in November & December 2012 with classing and baling days being held in the North and South Islands. This was the first time such an activity had been held for Suri breeders and so was a learning experience for all those involved. There were a good number of Suri breeders electing to take part with 28% of New Zealand Suri herds represented and over 2 ton of fibre collected. 13

All Suri breeders and owners (that we knew about) were invited to attend a weekend, the only rules were you had to attend one of the short tutorial sessions and you had to come yourself – you couldn’t just send your fleeces for us to do. As there was an important educational aspect to the weekend nothing would be gained if we did all the work, not to mention the large amount of time this would require. The weekends were each split into 4 sessions of half a day, meaning breeders didn’t need to attend the whole weekend if they only had a small number of fleeces. Each session started with a short introduction to the fibre attributes we wanted and those we needed to avoid. To illustrate these traits small samples of fibre that exhibited either lustre or chalky fleece, colour contamination, strong primary fibre and uniformity of micron were used to train attendees on the good and bad characteristics to look for when classing and skirting. We would then class and skirt a fleece as a group to start then break off into smaller groups, white on one table and colours on another to minimise contamination. Most fleeces came unskirted, which was understandable since most people had been doing nothing except storing the fleece straight after shearing, however it does take more time and we ended up with four very full on days. Very quickly we worked out an order of things to check – length, tenderness, Suri style/nourishment, colour (contamination), and micron. Length is a difficult one for breeders to get their head around, why had we set the maximum length at 140mm? The simple answer is that is what the spinning mills will process, they are already leery enough about processing Suri fibre (because it is not sheep wool) so to try and get a much longer length than they usually process is too bigger battle at the moment, we know we can do up to 140mm because it was successful in the Surissimo trial. So, sadly many beautiful fleeces went straight to the overlong bag if they exceeded our specification. Remember that fleece length is a management issue – in a commercial fibre production situation birthing and shearing would be timed to produce the optimal fibre length.

Suri style and nourishment was an important attribute when selecting fleeces as the inclusion of a dry chalky fleece, or fleece without the smooth Suri fibres would affect the performance of the final product. In order to be able to command the top prices we need to produce fabrics that display the beautiful lustre and handle that makes Suri so luxurious and unique. Other work we are doing with Suri is indicating that the fluffy or cross type Suri fleeces may work well in knitted products so we hope to expand our classing next year and develop this further. Categorising the colour correctly and consistently is vital. White must be pure white with no coloured fibres as the dye uptake will be different across different colours and can appear as smudges in the fabric. Although we will probably end up combining the light and mid fawns it is much better to do this just before scouring, then we will know the “recipe” and be more likely to reproduce the same colour, the same goes for creating grey from black and white.

Some good news on the horizon is we may be able to carry out some trial work soon using overlong Suri so keep an eye out for more news on that.

Classifying average micron and uniformity of micron (SD) is the most difficult part of classing. A midside measurement is a great start, but the fleece still needs to be inspected to assess the micron across the whole fleece. Some animals have excellent uniformity across the fleece and some only have a small area on the upper mid blanket, the rest needs skirting out. Where there was no micron test available we had to make an eyeball assessment, to help us do this we had cards with known micron samples that we could use as a guide. To become proficient at assessing micron you need experience, start looking at as many fleeces as you can and test yourself.

Tenderness in the fleece can automatically downgrade it to seconds. If the fleece staple is snapping in half it will mean that the length is under the specification minimum.

The other aspect of micron is how much coarse primary fibre is present. It doesn’t matter what the average micron is if it is full of bristles then it must be downgraded to seconds.

We also found fleeces that needed to be downgraded due to shearing and contamination issues. Doing your own shearing might sound like a great idea to save money but we really noticed the difference in fleeces from a professional versus the amateurs. Some fleeces were downgraded for excessive second cuts and shearing blows through the middle of the staple. Shearing shed hygiene was also an issue with fleeces being downgraded as they were too contaminated with coarse fibres from another animal or another colour. If you are serious about producing quality fibre you need to use the experts and plan your shearing well so the best quality and lightest colours are shorn first.

We feel the weekends were immensely successful. The breeders who attended gained valuable information and skills that will help them, not only with preparing next yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fleeces but with their breeding programmes and farm management. We collected data that will be very useful in predicting how much Suri fibre is produced in New Zealand. We would like to express our thanks to all those breeders who attended the classing and baling weekends and especially those who have donated fibre to the Rumpelstiltskin project. Next year we hope that even more breeders come, and bring all of their fibre. The bottom line is we need more Suri fibre, so we need more people breeding Suri.

Once we had assessed and classed the fleece we skirted out anything not meeting that classification and placed it in bins separating prime and seconds. We allowed a maximum of 10 minutes per fleece to try and keep on time and get through tonnage. The bins were weighed in and recorded against each breeder and class. Breeders could then choose if they combined their fibre into the bales or took it home for their own projects. The next step in the trial is to get the fibre scoured. We have nearly 60kg of Rumpelstiltskin grade from New Zealand and we are expecting a contribution from Australian Suri breeders that will take us over 200kg. This fibre will be scoured at a commercial scour before going to a mill to be made into tops and then spun into fully worsted yarn. A woven fabric is the end goal, and our plan is to provide all those who contributed fibre with samples and information that can be used to promote the wonderful Suri.

Worsted spinner

Design Spun Ltd â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Napier Commission yarn spinners experienced in the processing of alpaca fibre for application in a variety of end uses. Also converting wool , mohair, possum The mill is a worsted and fancy yarn spinner with specialist equipment installed some years ago specifically to improve the handling of alpaca. Yarn is available finished on cone , hank or ball and dyed to customers shades if required. Minimum batch sizes apply for spinning and dyeing. For further info please contact Peter Chatterton on 068433174 or peter@designspun.co.nz Location â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 5 Husheer Place, Onekawa, Napier , Hawkes Bay 4110

Also visit www.skeinz.co.nz for online yarns

ULTRAFINE ALPACA NATURE'S LUXURY by Paul Vallely - Australian Fibre Testing (AAFT) info@aaft.com.au | www.aaft.com.au

As the global alpaca community works towards the development of a viable fleece market, the commercial constraints associated with low volume are proving extremely problematic. Almost all growers of alpaca fibre produce relatively small volumes of fibre which in turn, is highly differentiated by key traits such as micron, staple length and colour. This results in extremely high logistic and labour costs of production. To place the issue of production volume into context, it is worth considering the volume produced by Australian merino wool growers. It is not uncommon for woolgrowers to produce 10 to 20 tonnes of wool per year. Most of the wool produced by any one producer would likely be within a 4 micron range, have almost identical length and be all the same colour. Each wool producer is therefore likely to produce individual consignments of uniform fleece type of between, say, 150 kilos to 1500 kilos. For this reason, economies of scale result in the cost of producing wool at about $AU7.00 to $AU10.00 per kilo. Harvesting costs, 16

including labour, equipment, shearing and transport would be about $AU2.00 per kilo (AWI - Production Costs - Sheep’s Back to Mill, 2010). On the other hand, the lack of economies of scale for alpaca fibre production results in harvesting costs alone to be about $AU15.00 to $AU20.00 per kilo (AAFT breeder survey, 2011), or about 7 to 10 times more than merino wool harvesting. Just to cover all shearing expenses, the fibre needs to sell above these costs. The obvious problem is that alpaca fibre rarely clears over $AU20.00 per kilo - particularly when one considers price sustainability. To find the answer to this problem, one actually need not look far. The intrinsic qualities of alpaca fibre can be perfect for the lucrative ‘prestige’ market. Its softness, tensile strength, thermal properties and blending properties combined with its eco friendly and welfare driven production allow it a cleared pathway to ‘high street’ fashion labels. Presenting ‘quality assured’, low micron and high comfort factor consignments on a uniform and repeatable basis will give alpaca fibre a rite of passage down this lucrative pathway. On this point, it should be noted that the prestige garment trade is booming, much to the envy of the ‘middle street’ textile trade which is still trying to find its feet in the wake of the GFC and Euro instability. Buyers of fibre destined for the routine trade would not be willing to pay much above $AU15 per kilo. On the other hand, fibre destined for the luxury trade where garments sell for hundreds and even thousands of dollars can be expected to reach $AU30 to $AU70 per kilo. These prices offer a sustainable and viable outcome for alpaca breeders. In Australia, the Ultrafine Bale scheme has secured such prices for alpaca breeders and owners. Operating for at least 6 years, the scheme involves collecting sub 19 micron white huacaya fleeces from around Australia using the Premium Alpaca concept. The fleeces are subject to Premium Alpaca's shearing and fleece preparation protocols to ensure a high level of quality assurance. The fleeces are grid tested using OFDA2000 technology to test for minimum acceptable levels of average fibre diameter, staple length and comfort factor. The fleeces are then skirted a second time to ensure consignments are relatively free of contamination and coarse fibres before consigning to the ultrafine bale. The ultrafine bales have now a reputation for being used by fashion houses over the world to be eventually worn as high quality apparel. The fibre is marketed as ‘Ultrafine Alpaca Nature's Luxury’.

The benefit to growers is that the fibre is purchased for up to $70 per kilo, giving clear profit margins after shearing costs. Further, the market impact of the bales has successfully been used to market all alpaca fibre types including broader microns, coloured fibres and hopefully in the near future, Suri fibre.

During discussions with Mr Scott, he made it clear that he was drawn to the Premium Alpaca consignments, in particular the Ultrafine Bale, because of the stringent and commercial based QA protocols adopted. His view was that this is the way alpaca fibre needs to be marketed.

The success of this venture, however, relies on its ability to go toe to toe with other luxury fibres such as cashmere and mohair. For this reason, the ultrafine bale scheme, through the Premium Alpaca concept, has embraced all relevant commercial procedures such as exceeding industry standards for bale weights, ensuring all bales are accredited under the core sampling and testing procedures and providing assurances of continuity of supply of uniform product.

In proclaiming the successes of the Ultrafine Scheme, the fact remains that many alpaca breeders are content to supply broader categories to, say, home spinners, many are not bothered with commercial returns for their fibre and many would respond with comments such as 'this has nothing to do with my alpaca herd'. And these breeders would have every right to do so - obviously.

Tangible proof of the Ultrafine bale scheme came this month in the form of the world record finest alpaca bale achieving the highest price ever paid for a bale of alpaca. The record breaking bale had an accredited core test result of 17.8 microns, weighed 112 kilos (almost 250 pounds) and achieved a price of $AU7,000 or about $AU62 per kilo. The bale was bought by Keenan Scott of Waiheke Alpaca of New Zealand and is to be processed into luxury ‘next to skin’ wear. The most important aspect of this sale, however, is the fact that it is linked to an on-going arrangement to purchase as much ultrafine alpaca fibre as we can supply for the same per kilo price, based on the grid test results of the respective fleeces. Mr Scott will be releasing more details of the venture in coming months.

For those breeders, however, who seek a viable alpaca fleece industry, this scheme provides a vision and a key to opening doors of opportunity. Combined with effective genetic selection, I can see the outcomes of this scheme resulting in alpacas producing fleeces worth hundreds of dollars over their lifetime - and I am not just talking about white Huacaya alpacas. As we are already witnessing with the Ultrafine Bale scheme, a viable alpaca fleece industry is achievable - providing we adopt a ‘can do’ approach to a visionary outlook.

National Alpaca Day Sunday 5th May 2013 by Kit Johnson

National Alpaca Day is the AANZ’s premier promotional event of the year. With the support of generous subsidies from the AANZ, members have a wonderful and inexpensive means to promote their stud through local and national media. The combined effect of all this is a nationwide media coverage of everything alpaca. By working together with your fellow breeders and the AANZ, we have the extra bargaining power of obtaining substantial editorial in addition to our advertising.

Signage at Gate: Have you finalised your “OPEN DAY” sandwich board so that the public can locate your farm easily. The public need to know that your farm is open to them on this day. Place some alpacas in the front paddock near your entrance.

Mail Drop: Either through your local mailman or NZ Post, you can have flyers delivered in your local RD area. In this way, your message is getting out to the local lifestyle farmers. Your flyer should include road directions from the nearest town and a small map. Include a good photo of an alpaca so that people can easily identify with the animal.

Team Impact: You have selected or joined your local alpaca group and it is imperative that you promote each other. The more exposure to alpacas that the public get, the better your chances of an eventual sale. Prepare a flyer showing the location of your other fellow members participating in the National Alpaca open day. Join with people you know and trust.

Internet: Have you updated your homepage to promote your By now you will have formed your local area group, finalised your advertising and be preparing for the big day. To maximise your day, we have prepared some guidelines...

open day. Prepare a link to another section of your website where you can describe in detail what the public will see and do on the day.

Facebook: Promote your open day through Facebook and other social media forums.

Local A & P Shows/Market Days: Take your promotional flyers along to the local A & P shows and market days leading up to National Alpaca Day.

Focus on Alpaca: Have you got good supplies of the Focus On Alpaca magazine? Remember there is no advertising in this publication, just good sound advice about farming alpacas.

Sale Kits: Have you prepared a list of animals for sale including the breeding, price, description and photo. Have a range of animals with different price so that your animals will appeal to a wide range of people. Have these animals in pens ready to show your customers.

Fibre and Product: If you have fibre and/or product for sale, have it ready on display in an area near your alpacas. Make it colourful, informative and attractive as a display. Like any retail outlet, a well stocked shop will encourage sales. 18

On The Day

Do’s and Don’ts

Animal Pens: Have your animals ready in their pens. Do

1. Be prepared so that you can relax and enjoy the day.

they look presentable or does their topknot or toenails need a trim. A good sales tool is to place your animals into say three pens at three different pricing levels and have the prices clearly marked on the pens.

2. Have sun cream, sunhat, sunglasses and water ready as well as a pullover in case the weather turns. You may not have time to go back inside looking for these items.

Start off with the cheapest pen and then work your way to the more expensive pen explaining carefully why each group of animals are priced differently. In this way, you can also show the good and not so good features of alpacas and why alpacas sell for different prices in the marketplace.

Promotional Displays: Set up your promotional display early in the morning. Have your flyers, sales kits, business cards, Focus on Alpaca magazines and all other promotional material available. Have something to protect your display if the wind comes up or it starts to rain.

Helpers: Do you have a team to assist you who know something about alpacas? Make sure your team impart the same message and that there are no inconsistencies. Have a strategy for late comers and how you will handle them especially if you are half way through a presentation.

Car Parks: Have signs erected directing the public to the car park. Have you allowed for say up to 20 cars at any one time?

Signage: Get all your signage out early in case of any early arrivals. If you have crossroads nearby where the public may get confused, erect extra signs so that you maximize the number of visitors.

Toilets/Water: Have you erected signs directing the public to the toilets and/or to get water in case it is a hot day.

3. Always introduce yourself and your team and establish who you are talking to. If your group do not come from a farming or lifestyle background, you need only talk in very general terms about alpacas. If your assembled group already have land, then you can go into more detail. A lot of people fail to do this resulting in lost interest. 4. Speak clearly and with vitality and enthusiasm. Ask if there are any questions at regular intervals. Always smile and have a bit of humour in your presentation. Remember you are trying to gain their confidence and this can be achieved if they are relaxed and enjoying the occasion. Take time out to listen carefully to your group – take in the mood of the group and if necessary make changes to your presentation. 5. Do not under any circumstances try and make sales on the day. You first of all have to gain their trust and confidence, they need to be reassured that their farm is suitable for farming alpacas and they need to understand the pricing of alpacas and how they can make a living from this industry. You cannot do this on one day and especially with all the interruptions going on around you. Give them time and invite them back on another day when you can give them more time for questions etc. 6. Remember the body language. Facial expressions can be misinterpreted. 7. Have a diary to write down names and addresses of potential clients – do not rely on them to phone or email you. Write down what you have promised to provide. 8. Always follow up on any potential sales lead. This is absolutely essential. If you don’t, someone else may get the sale. A phone call is always better than an email.

“BEST OF LUCK AND I WISH YOU ALL THE VERY BEST WITH YOUR NATIONAL ALPACA DAY!”

9. Finally and possibly one of the most important, always deliver on what you said you would do. Word of mouth advertising is still the single most important sales tool. You all know what a happy customer will do.

Fleece Statistics

Forestglen Seth

1st Fleece: 15.6 m, 2.9 sd, 19.1 cv, 100% cf

is an outstanding dark fawn huacaya male, with an exceptional fleece.

2nd Fleece: 16.8 m, 2.9 sd, 17.2 cv, 100% cf

He is widely regarded as the best fawn male ever

3rd Fleece: 17.07 m, 3.1 sd, 18.2 cv, 99.7% cf

seen in New Zealand. As

4th Fleece: 18.18 m, 3.36 sd, 18.5 cv, 99.8% cf

the Supreme Champion

a reflection of his fleece quality, he was awarded Huacaya Fleece at the first International Fleece

5th Fleece: 19.6 m, 3.6 sd, 17.9 cv, 97% cf

Show, held in Sydney, Australia, in March 2008.

SIRE OF CHAMPIONS

Forestglen Seth is now producing stunning offspring, many of which have already gone on to be show champions. We are now able to offer a limited selection of offspring for sale - call us for details.

Alan and Lyn Skilling 12 Maratoto Road RD4, Paeroa 3674 Ph: 07 862 4646 Email: info@qtazalpacas.com Website: www.qtazalpacas.com

by Jenny Durno

Every year we are treated to a comprehensive training conference which covers everything you wanted to know about alpacas and much more about what you need to know. Some things would never occur to a new breeder. Staggers? White Spot? Fleece testing? You go in expecting to hear about how to cut toe nails and you come out understanding why your brown alpaca is actually referred to as a grey. If you talk to a group of alpaca people and ask them why they first joined the Alpaca Association, what is the predominant answer? a) b) c) d)

To get education and support To register animals To be allowed to show animals To meet other alpaca people

The correct answer is a). As people mature into their alpaca breeders’ lifestyle they do come to appreciate the other essential and nice to have features of being a member, but the first instinct is to join the Association to get education. This year we get the Best Of Conference. Everything the hardworking conveners have learned in the years of putting on world class training programmes is coming together for our once in a lifetime opportunity – The World Alpaca Conference. We will have overseas people here in New Zealand assessing our alpacas, our farms, our hospitality – and the quality of our training. You think we might be getting a good show!?

The Whole Show It might pay to go and sit in a quiet place in August, or plan to do so in October. Because in September 2013, we are going to be immersed in everything to do with alpacas. Five days of alpacas

Dates Tuesday and Wednesday 17th and 18th September International Fleece Show judged by Sarah Busby, NZ (Suri) and Lyn Dickson Australia (Huacaya). Fleeces will be tested by Paul Vallely AAFT. Throughout the Show Expo – There will be trade stands, displays and public participation events with the judged fleeces providing a stunning backdrop to this area, where the Conference delegates have their breaks from session. Friday 20th September AANZ National Show Championship classes Show with judges Paul Garland (NZ) and Angela Preuss (Australia.) Friday 20th September, evening BBQ Dinner Saturday 21st September AANZ National Show Championship classes Show Saturday 21st September, evening Show Dinner Sunday 22nd September AANZ National non-Championship classes Sunday 22nd September, evening cocktails with Alpaca Auction, followed by Gala Dinner. Monday 23rd September Conference begins Monday 23rd September, evening Conference Dinner Tuesday 24th September Conference continues Wednesday 25th September Unless you are entertaining overseas visitors, in which case the fun no doubt continues, feed the show team something pleasant and have a nice sit down with a cup of tea. 21

Belinda Appleton takes the genetic story into the fleece. With a PhD in Genetics from Melbourne University, Australia, she has a broad biology research background which she has honed recently into a focus on alpaca – in particular the commercially important traits of alpaca fleece. Also from Australia is Kylie Munyard, who has leveraged off her PhD work to get down and dirty with such fleece concerns as colour dynamics and micron blowout.

The Conference Programme The subjects have been considered: Breeding, Genetics, Health and Fibre. The best speakers internationally have been sought for each area and the profiles are very impressive. There are people spending their lives studying just one aspect of alpaca breeding or alpaca health or alpaca fleece, and we are going to be able to listen to them tell us what they know. Here is a short description of what we have in store, for those who don’t like looking stuff up online. If you do, see the website – www.alpaca2013.co.nz – for full biographies. Keep looking at this site, as details are being added and updated all the time. In the two days of the Conference there will be up to three parallel sessions, some of them hands-on workshops. It appears that the biggest problem for delegates will be getting to all of the sessions of interest. Better not indulge too much in those social activities then.

The Vet Conference As much as we can learn in an annual conference and various training activities through the year, we still need our vets. We need our vets to know about alpacas and we are fortunate that we have a growing number of professionals taking an interest. There will be a parallel conference to bring them up to date. Please, contact your own vets and let them know about the conference. They will be part of the delegate group, too, so let’s mingle and make them welcome.

The Speakers For example, Juan Carlos Marin from Chile is going to talk to us about the history of camelids. A qualified PhD in Genetics, he has been focusing on the genetic variation of camelids and deer. Since alpacas have been domesticated in Chile for over 1000 years we can assume that he has plenty of resource to share with us.

Dr Chris Cebra from Oregon State University, USA, has been working with camelids for almost twenty years. A qualified veterinarian and research scientist, he knows more about how alpacas function than they do themselves. His talk will include a discussion about the ‘down alpaca’ – what does it mean and what can you do? We all know and love Dr Jane Vaughan and we are delighted that we will be treated to her lucid and lively explanations, this time about staggers and her work with semen proteins and their link with the ovulation process. By the time you leave Jane’s session you will know exactly why your alpacas are spitting at the male and what you can do about it if they are not. Paul Vallely, Australian Alpaca Fibre Testing, Australia, has multiple roles at the Conference. No doubt buoyed by his success at the previous World Alpaca Conference in the UK in 2012, he is going to speak to us about fleece testing, undertake the fleece testing for the International Fleece Show,, and will also host a trade stand where you can take your own samples in to be tested on his machines. Home-grown South Islander Jon Hickford is currently teaching Science and Agriculture degree programmes in Animal Biochemistry and Physiology at Lincoln University. He is particularly interested in animal breeding and genetics and molecular biology. He will be speaking about breeding programmes and in particular about selecting for positive traits in fleece and selecting against traits like genetic predisposition to FE.

Why you should be going 1. You breed alpaca or you are thinking about it so you need to know all you can about how to care for them. 2. You are passionate about fleece and want to know how to grow the best possible product. 3. You are keen on breeding and want to see your animals, as part of the New Zealand herd, showcased to the world. And this time the world is coming here. 4. You like alpaca people and there is nothing like the atmosphere of a well-run show and conference, especially if there is a chance to dress up and socialise with like-minded people. 5. You could not live with yourself if you missed it and had to listen to people saying how fantastic it was for the next five years.

Action Point Look up on your AANZ site – www.alpaca2013.co.nz – for early bird and sponsorship packages. Sort out your Show fleeces and eye up your best animals. Get your brochures printed. And we will see you there. 22

Alpacas in the paddock... ...a lifestyle choice!

Long established breeders of top class white and fawn Huacaya with high value commercial fleeces. A number of quality females now available.

Barbara and Doug Lomax 15 William Stephen Road, Te Anau, New Zealand Ph: 03 249 9099 | Email: honeyfields@xtra.co.nz

www.honeyfields.co.nz

21 Century LIVESTOCK st

by Julie McClen - Oak Grove Alpacas, Australia

We live in a world becoming greener by the day, green as it relates to an environmental conscious that is. Most modern consumers have an understanding of the concepts behind environmental sustainability & new catch phrases relating to environmental issues are populating our language at a rapid rate. Carbon footprint, eco friendly, global warming and sustainable agriculture, are but a few of the newer members of the new dialect of environment, joining those more established terms like recycling and greenies. Add to this growing environmental consciousness the desire by consumers to consider the welfare of the livestock that provide the raw products of fleece, leather, milk and meat to name but a few, and you have a farming environment like no other in the history of agriculture. With global animal rights groups like PETA drawing attention to the practice of mulesing sheep & battery farming of chickens, severe economic consequences are occurring for farmers unable to adapt. Some countries are now banning imports of animal products whose husbandry involves practices on the blacklist of animal rights organisations worldwide. But all of these issues are something as alpaca breeders we look on from a distance. We have livestock designed by nature to fit perfectly with the greener consciousness of the 21st century. The eco friendly traits of alpacas are something as an industry we could better use to our advantage, by promoting alpacas as livestock suitable to Australian conditions, and appealing to the environmental groups whose influence is growing stronger each year. They in turn could lend their support to the promotion of alpacas as an environmentally friendly alternative to sheep or goats. 24

www.oakgrove.com.au

How can anyone fail to be impressed by the alpacaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s soft padded feet putting less pressure on our fragile soils than other livestock, and even less than our native animals? At 39 kPA the static load weight of an alpaca is much better than sheep at 82 kPA, cattle at 185 kPA and man at 95 kPA, and even better than our native kangaroo coming in at 46 kPA. Their soft padded feet do not damage our shallow top soils like other harder hooved livestock and they do not rip out grasses damaging the roots, or ringbark trees, therefore compaction is less, fertility is maintained, less soil erosion occurs and less weed invasion is likely. Alpacas do well on native grasses & as browsers they tend to select a variety of plants to eat, so biodiversity is maintained & since native pastures require less fertiliser this can in turn reduce waterway contamination from chemical run off. The practice of alpacas to have communal dung piles that they tend to not graze around reduces worm burdens & therefore the need for chemical drenches is also reduced, and the ease of manure collection offers the opportunity for another side line to supplement farm income and improve soil fertility naturally. Due to their clean breach and the lifting of their tail to urinate and defecate, they do not require crutching or mulesing, now a major issue for the sheep industry. They tend not to suffer from fly strike or parasites like other livestock and this also reduces the use of chemicals in the farming process. Their fibre is produced in a variety of natural colours lending itself perfectly to producing products from undyed fibre, a process which requires environmentally damaging chemicals. The lower grease content in alpaca fibre also requires less chemical use in the scour process further enhancing its ability to appeal to the growing natural and organic markets worldwide. So when you are next promoting the farming of alpacas, don't forget to mention they were 'green' long before the term was even adopted to represent the environmentally conscious!

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SILVERSTREAM GOVERNOR GREY 20.1u 4.0sd 20.1cv 67.9curve 97.0cf – 6th fleece (2012)

Silverstream Alpaca Stud North Canterbury Ph: (03) 327 3020 info@alpaca-stud.co.nz www.alpaca-stud.co.nz

A pilot iodine response study in alpacas in Canterbury

an iodine deficient area in New Zealand by Monique Koning Mobile Vetcare Ltd, 40 Karanga Road, Dunsandel, RD 2 Leeston 7682, New Zealand – mobilevetnz@gmail.com § Author for correspondence.

Abstract Aim: To determine total serum thyroxine (TT4) in alpacas on different farms in an iodine deficient area in New Zealand, and the response of TT4 levels on each farm 3 weeks after a single supplementation with either oral, or injectable iodine. Methods: Blood samples were collected on 3 farms in Canterbury with no history of iodine supplementation and TT4 levels determined in healthy (n=16) and unthrifty (n=8) alpacas, before and 3 weeks after either a single oral dose of 300 mg iodine on 2 farms (healthy n=8, unthrifty n=8), or a single intramuscular injection of 390 mg of iodine on 1 farm (n=8) from the end of July till the beginning of October, in the late afternoon. Possible confounding factors, such as age, bodyweight, sex and pregnancy status were recorded for the participating animals. Results: The initial mean TT4 concentration in healthy alpacas receiving oral supplementation (n=8) was 80.1 (standard deviation (SD) 11.3) nmol/l. Oral supplementation with 300 mg of iodine raised (p=0.009) the mean TT4 concentration to 94.1 (SD 13.7) nmol/l. The initial mean TT4 concentration in healthy alpacas receiving injectable supplementation (n=8) was 75.4 (SD 22.0) nmol/l. Injection with 390 mg iodide raised (p=0.017) the mean TT4 concentration to 104.8 (SD 23.6) nmol/l. The initial mean TT4 in the unthrifty alpacas (n=8) was 53.6 (SD 10.5) nmol/l. Oral supplementation with 300 mg of iodine raised (p=0.002) the mean TT4 concentration to 69.3 (SD 10.7) nmol/l. The age of the healthy alpacas ranged from 2-14.8 ( mean 5.3 , SD 3.3) years, and the bodyweight ranged from 60-75 (mean 67, SD 4) kg. The age of the unthrifty alpacas ranged from 0.6-2.4 (mean 1.8, SD 1.1) years, and their bodyweight ranged from 23-64 (mean 46, SD 16) kg. Three males and 21 females were included in the study. Thirteen of the 21 female alpacas were thought to be pregnant. 26

Conclusions: TT4 concentrations in alpacas of different ages and with different body weights increase significantly after oral and injectable iodine supplementation. This suggests the presence of a suboptimal iodine status. Further study is indicated to clarify the significance of the iodine status with regard to perinatal mortality and reproduction parameters. Clinical relevance: Perinatal mortality in crias and fertility problems in alpacas are common problems of the alpaca industry. In other species these problems have been related with iodine deficiency. Simple iodine supplementation in alpacas may help improve the current situation. Key words: alpaca, Llama pacos, iodine, serum thyroxine, TT4, total serum thyroxine

Introduction Iodine deficiency has long been a recognised problem worldwide, including New Zealand. Diagnosing iodine deficiency is easy when obvious clinical signs are present, but becomes difficult when it is a subclinical problem. Thyroid iodine content (Fragu et al 1985), urinary iodine concentration (Ferri et al 2003), TT4 changes, T4/T3 ratios, thyroid weight, thyroid weight to birth weight ratio (sheep), thyroid dimensions (Leisner et al 1985, Sinclair and Andrews 1954), plasma inorganic iodine (Randhawa and Randhawa 2001) have all been used to study iodine deficiency. The clinical effects in sheep and cattle have been described for goitre producing areas in New Zealand, such as Canterbury, Otago, Westland and the Manawatu. The subclinical effects of iodine deficiency may be even more widespread. Nothing is known about the iodine status of alpacas in New Zealand, or its influence on common problems in alpacas, such as perinatal mortality and in- and subfertility. Because alpacas mostly carry singletons with a gestation period of 11 months, these problems have a profound impact on the alpaca industry. Goitre hasn’t been noticed in alpacas. Neither are there data available about the weight of thyroid glands in newborn crias. A reference range for TT4 in North American alpacas has been cautiously provided (Anderson and Silviera 2003). Iodine supplementation is widely used to deal with endemic iodine deficiency problems and goitrogenic feedstuffs and so prevent goitre, reduce perinatal mortality and increase reproductive performance. Although not directly obvious alpacas may have a need for iodine too. Iodine management has been the subject of multiple studies (Anderson et al 2007, Clark et al 1998, Knowles and Grace 2007) and could improve alpaca husbandry as well. This pilot study is aimed to obtain preliminary information about the concentration of TT4 in healthy and unthrifty alpacas in an iodine deficient area in New Zealand and the subsequent response of TT4 concentration to either a single oral or injectable iodine supplementation.

Methods Animals and experimental design Initial blood samples for serum T4 determination were obtained from 8 animals per farm, on 3 different farms in Canterbury with no history of iodine supplementation, in the same season, during the same time of the day (late

afternoon). On two farms the animals used for the study were healthy animals presented for tuberculosis testing (Farm 1), or yearly evaluation of the selenium status by blood sampling (Farm 2). On Farm 3 the animals included in the study were presented as lagging behind in growth with blood panels to be done to evaluate their health status. After the initial blood sampling the alpacas on Farm 1 and Farm 3 were dosed orally with 5 ml of an 8% (w/v) potassium iodide solution (potassium iodide USP25 (76% iodine), Redox NZ, Christchurch, New Zealand), providing a total dose of 300 mg iodine per alpaca. The alpacas on Farm 2 received a commercial injectable iodised oil supplement (Flexidine, Bomac Laboratories Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand) into the muscle, providing a total dose of 390 mg iodine. Three weeks after iodine loading the same alpacas were retested for TT4 concentration. Individual data about age, body weight, sex, health and perceived pregnancy status were collected at the time of sampling.

Chemical analyses Total serum T4 concentrations were determined using a total T4 kit with antibody coated tubes (Diagnostic Products Corporation, Los Angeles, California, USA) at Gribbles Veterinary Pathology Ltd, Dunedin, New Zealand.

Statistical analyses Data were analysed using the Analysis ToolPak in Microsoft Excel, version 2002 (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Washington, USA). The paired two-sample student's t-test was used to analyse the effect of iodine supplementation. Single factor anova was used to compare data of the 3 different farms. A Bonferroni correction was used with multiple comparisons.

Results The initial serum T4 levels varied significantly (p=0.006) for the 3 farms. The mean TT4 at Farm 1 was similar to Farm 2, but both Farm 1 and Farm 2 differed (p<0.001 and p=0.048, respectively) significantly from Farm 3. The initial mean total serum T4 for Farm 1, 2, and 3 was 80.1 (SD 11.3) nmol/l, 75.4 (SD 22.0) nmol/l, and 53.6 (SD 10.5) nmol/l, respectively. The mean serum T4 concentration increased on Farm 1,2, and 3 to 94.1 (SD 13.7, p=0.009) nmol/l, 104.8 (SD 23.6, p=0.017) nmol/l, and 69.3 (SD 10.7, p=0.002) nmol/l, respectively, 3 weeks after either the oral (Farm 1 and 3) or injectable (Farm 2) administration of iodine. The age of the animals on Farm 1, 2, and 3 varied (p=0.026), with a mean age of 5.9 (SD 3.9) years, 4.3 (SD 2.7) years, and 1.8 (SD 1.0) years, respectively. The ages on Farm 3 were markedly lower (p=0.024) than on Farm 1. The body weight on the 3 farms also varied significantly (p<0.001), with Farm 1 and Farm 2 having heavier animals (p=0.006, and p=0.007, respectively). The mean bodyweights for Farm 1, 2, and 3 were 67 (SD 4) kg, 66 (SD 4) kg, and 46 (SD 16) kg, respectively. The animals from Farm 1 were all females, with 4 of the females perceived as pregnant. On Farm 2 one male was included, and the 7 remaining females were all expected to be pregnant. Farm 3 had 2 males included, and 2 of the 6 females were expected to be pregnant.

There was no statistical significant difference between the absolute increments in TT4 concentration to oral and injectable iodine supplementation in healthy and unthrifty alpacas. In this study, with a limited number of animals, there was no difference in serum T4 levels between either females considered pregnant and non-pregnant, nor males and females. The animals on Farm 1 all tested negative for tuberculosis. The average selenium level for the animals tested on Farm 2 was high, 2541 (SD ) nmol/l. On Farm 3 the albumin level was low or marginal in 5 out of the 8 alpacas tested.

Discussion The interactions of TT4 with other variables are not fully elucidated. TT4 varies with known factors, such as season, stage of lactation, feed intake, gastro-intestinal parasitism, age, sex and disease. A single measurement in a subject, or a simple average for a group of animals, is therefore not a reliable indicator for iodine deficiency. What happens to the TT4 concentration in response to an interfering action could be more helpful in evaluating the iodine status. An increase in TT4 concentrations, such as after iodine supplementation in bovines with low plasma inorganic iodine (Randhawa and Randhawa 2001), and in sheep with low urinary iodine concentrations (Ferri et al 2003), could be a valid method to assess the iodine status of individual subjects. Humans (Fragu et al 1985) and animals (Pattanaik et al 2001) with an adequate iodine metabolism have no marked rise in TT4 after additional iodine supplementation. A TT4 test is readily available, at a reasonable price, for alpacas in New Zealand. To minimise possible seasonal and diurnal variations between animals, all alpacas were tested in early spring, in the afternoon. The alpacas on Farm 3 were younger and considered unthrifty, and had consequently lower body weights than the healthy animals from Farm 1 and Farm 2. The low to marginal albumin levels in 5 out of 8 animals on Farm 3 are consistent with a suspected protein losing enteropathy due to parasitism. Age, low body weight and gastro-intestinal parasitism could be factors resulting in lower TT4 concentrations on this farm. The absolute mean increment in TT4 concentration in healthy and unthrifty alpacas after oral supplementation with iodine is very similar 14.0 (SD 11.1) nmol/l and 15.6 (SD 8.9) nmol, respectively. This suggests a response to oral iodine supplementation dependent on the amount of iodine used independent from the initial TT4 levels. Supplementation with injectable iodine resulted in a larger absolute increment of TT4 with more variation (29.4 (SD 26.9) nmol/l). However, this variation was already present in the initial TT4 levels of the animals on this farm. At this stage there is no preference for either the oral or injectable route of supplementation based on TT4 increases. Although only small number of alpacas representing a wide variety in age and body weight were tested on different farms, the obtained TT4 concentrations fell within a relatively narrow range. Each alpaca served as its own control to minimise the influence of natural variation in TT4 levels on the result of iodine supplementation. The marked general TT4 increase following the iodine supplementation of the alpacas 27

suggests the existence of a suboptimal iodine status in these animals. It is acknowledged that other factors than iodine supplementation could have raised the TT4 levels as well. The inclusion of control animals (sham treatment) on each farm would have helped in clarifying that point. Further studies are indicated to reveal if iodine interacts with perinatal mortality and sub- and infertility in these species.

Fowler ME. Medicine and Surgery of South American Camelids, page 27, 2nd edition, Iowa State University Press, Ames, Iowa, USA, 1998

Acknowledgements

Knowles SO, Grace ND. A practical approach to managing risks of iodine deficiency in flocks using thyroidweight:birthweight ratios of lambs. New Zealand Veterinary Journal 55(6), 314-318, 2007

The support of Selwyn Rakaia Veterinary Services, Awatere Alpacas, Sherlin Alpacas, Southern Alpacas, Bomac Laboratories, the Camelid Branch of the NZVA, and Gribbles Laboratories is gratefully acknowledged for providing the opportunity to perform the study.

References Anderson DE, Silviera F. Effect of age and gender on serum concentration of triiodothyronine and tetraiodothyronine (thyroxine) in alpacas (Lama pacos). Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances 2(11), 626-629, 2003 Anderson PD, Dalir-Naghadeh B, Parkinson TJ. Iodine deficiency in dairy cattle. Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production 67, 248-254, 2007 Clark RG, Sarginson RD, West DM, Littlejohn RP. Recent information on iodine deficiency in New Zealand sheep flocks. New Zealand Veterinary Journal 46, 216-222, 1998

Fragu P, Schlumberger M, Tubiana M. Thyroid iodine content and serum thyroid hormone levels in autoimmune thyroiditis: effect of iodide supplementation. Journal of Nuclear Medicine 26(2), 133-139, 1985

Leisner b, Henrich B, Knorr D, Kantlehner R. Effect of iodide treatment on iodine concentration and volume of endemic non-toxic goitre in childhood. Acta Endocrinology (Copenhagen) 108(1), 44-50, 1985 Pattanaik AK, Khan SA, Varshney VP, Bedi SPS. Effect of iodine level in mustard (Brassica juncea) cake-based concentrate supplement on nutrient utilisation and serum thyroid hormones of goats. Small Ruminant Research 41, 51-59, 2001 Randhawa CS, Randhawa SS. Epidemiology and diagnosis of subclinical iodine deficiency in crossbred cattle of Punjab. Australian Veterinary Journal 79(5), 349-351, 2001 Sinclair DN, Andrews ED. Goitre in new-born lambs. New Zealand Veterinary Journal 2, 72-79, 1954

Ferri N, Ulisse S, Aghini-Lombardi F, Graziano FM, Di Matta T, Russo FP, Arizzi M, Baldini E, Trimboli P, Attanasio D, Fumarola A, Pinchera A, D'Armiento M. Iodine supplementation restores fertility of sheep exposed to iodine deficiency. Journal of Endocrinology Investigations 26(11), 1081-1087, 2003

Table 1: Mean total serum thyroxine (TT4) in alpacas on 3 farms in Canterbury, New Zealand, before and 3 weeks after oral or injectable iodine supplementation. TT4 (nmol/l) n

administration

baseline (SD)

post iodine supplementation (SD)

p-value*

Farm 1

oral

80.1 (11.30)

94.1* (13.7)

0.009

Farm 2

injectable

75.4 (22.0)

104.8* (23.6)

0.017

Farm 3

oral

53.6 (10.5)

69.3* (10.7)

0.0002

* significantly different from the baseline value in the same row

Table 2: Demographics of the animals used in the study. sex ratio M/F

age range (average ± SD) in years

body weight range (average ± SD) in kg

pregnant/ non-preg

breed H/S

Farm 1

0/8

3.3 - 14.8 (5.9 ± 3.9)

60 - 75 (67 ± 5)

4/4

7/1 (fp)

Farm 2

1/7

2 - 10.5 (4.3 ± 2.7)

65 -75 (66 ± 4)

7/0

6/2 (m,fp)

Farm 3

2/6

0.6 - 3 (1.8 ± 1.1)*

23 - 64 (46 ± 16)*

2/6

8/0

M= male, F= female, H= Huacaya, S= Suri, fp= female-pregnant, m= male * p < 0.05 with regard to Farm 1 and Farm 2 in the same column

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Science Corner A Summary of Recent Findings... by Sarah Busby

Camelids appear to offer what researchers are calling a “game changer” in the quest for treating Alzheimer’s disease. A study published in the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology reports that a serum from these animals “could enhance brain imaging and help drugs pass through the blood-brain barrier.” The blood–brain barrier (BBB) is a separation of circulating blood from the extracellular fluid that bathes the brain in the central nervous system. The BBB restricts the diffusion of larger molecules and microscopic objects such as bacteria from entering the brain. Smaller molecules such as oxygen and carbon dioxide can diffuse across the BBB. The paper describes an entirely new class of antibody discovered in the camelid genus that can cross the bloodbrain barrier, diffuse into brain tissue, and reach specific targets. Lafaye and colleagues studied alpacas and discovered an antibody naturally able to cross the BBB without need for chemical modification. Then, additional research showed that after these antibodies entered the brain successfully, they diffused into the brain tissue to reach a target, which in this study was a type of cell called astrocytes. This study shows, for the first time, an antibody penetrated into the brain in a living brain, under normal physiological conditions. In addition to the obvious clinical applications of this finding, it opens the doors to new research involving the body’s systems for recognizing self v. “non-self.” Such recognition of self vs non-self is the basis of the body’s immune system.

Pierre Lafaye, Ph.D., a researcher from the Institut Pasteur in Paris, is quoted in a release from the publisher as saying, “This basic biological investigation opens new pathways toward innovative therapeutic solutions for intractable diseases such as Alzheimer's disease or brain tumours.” The discovery may lead to enhanced imaging of, and improved drug delivery to the brain. These antibodies, which are naturally available in camelids, may have a huge impact in improving the outcomes for people with brain diseases that are poorly diagnosed and treated using today’s tools. The release also quotes Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-inChief of The FASEB Journal, as saying, “Camels may be most famous for helping people travel to the outermost reaches of the desert, but soon they could be also known for helping us reach the innermost parts of our brains. It appears that these prized animals are far more capable of helping get to hardto-reach places than we ever could have imagined.” “The importance of this study is the hope that this novel approach may be a useful tool in crossing the blood brain barrier for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes,” added Babbette Weksler, MD, Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, another author of the study and editorial board member of The FASEB Journal.

Reference: T. Li, J.-P. Bourgeois, S. Celli, F. Glacial, A.-M. Le Sourd, S. Mecheri, B. Weksler, I. Romero, P.-O. Couraud, F. Rougeon, P. Lafaye. Cell-penetrating anti-GFAP VHH and corresponding fluorescent fusion protein VHH-GFP spontaneously cross the blood-brain barrier and specifically recognize astrocytes: application to brain imaging. The FASEB Journal, 2012; 26 (10): 3969

Alpacas in

Germany: a growing

business

by Herbert Ruch - President Alpaca Association e.V.

History The first alpacas were brought into Germany in 1992 by a breeder Southwest Germany. Slowly, but surely, the number of breeders was growing since then to nowadays around 500, and the total number of camelids grew to approx 13,000 to 15,000 (estimated by the author of this article). Approx 90%+ of these are Huacayas. The real count is not known, since there is no mandate to register every ‘new’ animal and to keep records of the dead ones. To make this statistic even more uncertain is that we have very different registration rules in the various associations that do exist in Germany.

Organisations The first association, called NWK (= Verein der Halter, Züchter & Freunde von NeuWeltKameliden e.V.) was founded back in 1993. Major focus of this society was and still is on Lamas. Therefore, it was an obvious next step that in 1998, the first alpaca society was spun of from the NWK, named AZVD e.V. (= AlpakaZuchtVerband Deutschland). In 2004, the AAeV (= Alpaca Association e.V.) was founded to build an alternative society. A handful of breeders decided to go new and more democratic ways, and to become more internationally oriented. To complete the picture, there is another smaller alpaca organisation that is geographically focusing on parts of former East Germany. These four societies co-exist since almost ten years, and there are no obvious signs to combine them under one ‘holding’.

Breeders’ structure There is no single data repository that keeps all relevant German data on count of breeders, animals, fibre data, medical topics etc. As a pure estimation (based on the AAeV ‘demographics’), there are many small farms with 20 or less alpacas; this number could be 75%+. The ‘midsize’ farms with up to 100 animals are probably making up for around 20%. There is a very limited number of big farms owning 100 and more alpacas.

Support for breeders Driven by a sort of competition, the two bigger alpaca societies (AZVD and AAeV) individually put a lot of efforts to develop structured registry systems and herd books. The AAeV was in the pole position not only to have a DNA and µchip-based registration in place, but also to introduce a herd book system. 34

Our focus meanwhile is clearly to provide verified and certified parentage information. Every new registered animalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parents are checked mandatorily for DNA matches. Initially, about 20% false fathers were identified, and mostly the right ones were found. Only with this certified data, a pedigree is meaningful. This herd book became a great data base that carries the assessment details of alpacas based on phenotype, subjective and objective fibre data. With the support from some BAS judges and an internationally renowned veterinarian, the screening details were compiled and improved over the previous years. Now the breeders can get a prove of their breeding progress by the scores of their alpacas that made it into the herd book.

Shows Another way of assessing breeding progress is (like everywhere on the globe) to present animals at shows. In Germany, there are three to four shows during spring time (mainly February to April) and usually 2 shows in fall time (October and November). Even during the summer, some local shows are organized. Quite some breeders tend to be exhibiting their alpacas at several show locations. Average show size meanwhile went to >200; the most recent one in February 2013 had >360 alpacas (again, >90% being Huacayas).

information and data they get from the alpaca sellers. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d wish we could find a way to provide independent and objective information before they buy their first alpaca(s). Alpaca-specific medical know-how is rather limited. Veterinarians in Germany usually do not get much information (if at all) about camelids. So, the challenge is to build a network amongst the vets, so that they could access the ones who know more about our alpaca species. As well, lots of medical problems are still not really known (e.g. which (of 22 different) blood types are compatible with each other.

Summary Our associations are requested to make the alpaca species more known in Germany, and to help raising the alpaca population to get more fibre. They need to provide a platform for objective information for their breeders, and help building networks. Fraud does exist, and should be made public to prevent breeders from making these negative experiences by themselves. Last but not least, the level of international cooperation is by far underdeveloped. Here I see a big potential to further grow the alpacas business.

Since in Germany there are no local certified judges, these jobs are done by the well-known folks from US, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand.

Fibre processing In the last couple of years, the notion (why to keep, breed and import alpacas) moved from mainly animal trading to producing and selling fibre goods. Whereas still quite some imports (mainly from Chile and Australia) are organized by the bigger farmers and selling of animals still is a topic for them, breeders are getting more conscious to benefit from the great quality of alpaca fibre, and the added value to produce wool, clothes, duvets. Another contemporary trend that generates good margin, is to run shops at the farmyards. All in all, it is obvious that the buying market for alpaca products is developing nicely, and finally generates business sense to existing and new breeders.

Biggest opportunities and challenges today Proofing parentage on an international scale is becoming more and more important for all serious breeders. The new ISAG (International Society of Animal Genetics) standard for DNA markers for camelids is a great step into the right direction. With this standard in place, in future the alpacasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; can be clearly identified and verified (assuming that the parents are registered on the same basis. Profit of selling alpacas can still be rather high, thus attracting folks to make quick and big money. The real issue here is that newcomers and first-timers are dependent on the 35

ALPACA EXPORTS TO

EUROPE IT SOUNDS COMPLICATED

IS IT ONLY FOR THE

BIG BOYS? by Kit Johnson - Silverstream Alpaca Stud

This edited article is from a presentation delivered by Kit at the 2012 National Conference at Rotorua. After 32 years in the passenger transport and tourism industry, I was ready for a quieter pace of life. I sold my business interests and together with my wife Sheryl purchased a 10 acre block near Kaiapoi about 20 kilometres north of Christchurch. We purchased our first alpacas in late 2000 and after extensive research we decided to head to Australia. Names like Inti, Highlander, Ledger’s Dream, Sculptor, Brigantine, Conquistador, Warrior and many others had fascinated me and now we had the opportunity of seeing these magnificent animals first hand. This was the start of our first imports from Australia and they have never stopped. Today Silverstream has a herd of about 230 alpacas on 50 acres spread over 3 properties. In 2006 after several serious inquiries from overseas we built two quarantine facilities and after months of paperwork complying with MPI (Ministry of Primary Industries) regulations, we were granted our PEI (Pre Export Isolation) licence. We have since opened a third facility and are exporting alpacas on a regular basis to most parts of Europe. I hope to offer some insight into the world of alpaca exports and provide encouragement for others to follow suit.

So why wouldn’t you export to Europe? Here are some compelling reasons why you should: 1. With the exception of the UK, the overall quality of the European herd is of a lower standard – some individual farms excepted. 2. The spread of Blue Tongue in Europe and Tb in the UK has made European breeders wary of where they purchase their next alpaca. There are also stringent movement controls in place to prevent the spread of the disease in both Europe and the UK. 36

3. Importing alpacas from the USA has generally not been an attractive option financially. 4. There is currently no protocol in place for the export of alpacas direct from Australia to the EU. The main access for Australian genetics into the EU is via NZ but this involves a six month isolation period in New Zealand. New Zealand bred alpacas have been exported to Europe since 2007 and they have enjoyed considerable success in the show ring. We have a good reputation. 5. European alpaca breeders are aware that NZ has a diverse genetic base of Australian and to a lesser extent South and North American genetics. 6. Our registry and male certification programme provide confidence and reassurance to the buyer. They like to see the registration papers proving ownership, date of birth and the pedigree of the animal in question. 7. Show results do have an impact on the selection of animals. European breeders as a rule, do not inspect the animals first hand relying more on the information furnished by the vendor. Show results become very important. With our large number of shows, they obtain some very useful information from their perspective. 8.

New Zealand enjoys an enviable international reputation for its agricultural excellence and relative freedom of disease.

9. Depending on the timing of the purchase, New Zealand bred alpacas can potentially be in Europe within 42 days. 10. A favourable exchange rate has greatly assisted New Zealand exporters and made the cost of NZ animals including export relatively inexpensive. 11. European alpaca breeders are looking for that winning edge over their competitors. They are competitive and they are looking for their next champion. New Zealand is known as a source of top quality animals.

Australia - How do we compete? 150,000 alpacas compared to our 25,000 alpacas. Despite our small size, New Zealand, can export alpacas direct to Europe. This is due to the existence of a signed protocol (last updated 15/05/2011) between the Ministry of Primary Industries and the agricultural officials in the EU. As mentioned earlier, New Zealand is the preferred way for Australians wanting to access the European market. Under the above protocol, any imported animal from Australia must be resident in NZ for a minimum period of six months. This in turn creates some wonderful opportunities for NZ alpaca breeders to sell into Europe competitively. 1. NZ bred animals can be in Europe from between six weeks and three months depending on the next planned departure date. 2. Alpacas cannot be exported in their last trimester of pregnancy. If one assumes that pregnant females are at least three months pregnant before their arrival into New Zealand, then the female will have to birth in NZ before being exported to Europe, adding to the time and cost of the export. 3. It is currently less expensive to export alpacas from New Zealand to Europe. As a general rule and assuming the purchase price is the same (allowing for currency conversion), an Australian alpaca will cost approximately NZ$3,000 more to import into Europe than a similar alpaca being exported from New Zealand. This added cost is made up of Australian quarantine, air freight to NZ plus NZ quarantine and MPI costs as well as agistment for the six month period. Beware however that terms of trade and the conditions of passage can change at very short notice. There have also been a large number of Australian alpacas exported to Europe. There is a perception in Europe that the US and Australia have the best animals. We should be aware that at any time, Australia may develop an export protocol to the EU. There is already a working group in place exploring options to have Australian animals exported direct into Europe.

What are the demographics of the main alpaca nations in the EU? COUNTRY

POPULATION

ALPACA NO’S

United Kingdom

62 million

25,000

Germany

82 million

12,000

The Netherlands

17 million

5,000

France

65 million

5,000

Italy

60 million

5,000

Belgium

11 million

4,000

Switzerland

8 million

4,000

Norway

5 million

2,500

Sweden

9 million

2,000

Austria

8 million

1,500

Totals

327 million

66,000

EU countries not mentioned above – 240 million people.

As a comparison: COUNTRY

POPULATION

ALPACA NO’S

New Zealand

4.5 million

25,000

Australia

22 million

150,000

With half a billion people in Europe, there is huge potential for more export sales. There are many wealthy people in Europe with large disposable incomes. In New Zealand the trend is for city dwellers to purchase lifestyle properties whereas in Europe many alpaca breeders come from small villages and already own or have access to small parcels of land. Alpaca shows have only become established in the last three to four years in mainland Europe and new shows are developing all the time. With shows come promotion and publicity of our beloved alpacas. The potential coming off such a small base is enormous.

New Zealand alpaca import and export statistics Obtaining accurate import and export data is not easy to come by. For importers and exporters it is commercially sensitive. Using data from MPI, we come up with the following: YEAR

IMPORTS

EXPORTS

2005

256

2006

290

2007

168

106

2008

225

353

2009

146

375

2010

344

334

2011

404

2012

We do know that there were a number of large alpaca imports from South America from 1987 to 1991 and that a proportion of these animals were exported to Australia after the 1987 share crash. There were also regular imports from Australia from 2000 onwards. Pre 2005 alpacas were not categorized separately in the MPI statistical data. The above information is also blurred by the fact that from 2010 came the start of the Australian imports ultimately bound for Europe. These animals were imported into NZ for six months and then exported to Europe. What percentage of the above imports stayed in New Zealand is unknown.

So which countries can I export to? Before committing to any sale overseas, it is most important that you check to see that there is an export protocol in place for that country. You also need to check the next planned date of departure. An export protocol is an official agreement between New Zealand and a nominated country for the import to that country of alpacas. The agreement sets out the terms and conditions in which alpacas can be imported. 37

There are serious consequences for any breach of a protocol not the least being the cancellation of the export. There is an Export Protocol in place for the European Union. Countries included in that protocol include: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Slovac Republic and the UK. Switzerland and Norway whilst not members of the EU are also covered by the EU Protocol. There are also separate protocols for Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan and the USA. To find out more go to: www.biosecurity.govt.nz/exports/ animals/search/-/alpacas

I have had an inquiry from Europe – what do I do? 1.

Establish if there is a protocol for that country? Refer to: www.biosecurity.govt.nz/exports/animals/ search/-/alpacas or check with your local alpaca exporter. Remember without a protocol, you cannot export.

2. Contact your local alpaca exporter to establish when the next export to Europe is planned. Exporting two or three alpacas by themselves is very, very expensive. By consolidating your export with other NZ breeders, there are considerable cost savings. 3. If you have a pregnant female(s), check her/their last mating date off against the planned export date. Ensure the female(s) are not in their last trimester of pregnancy. They will not be permitted to travel if they are. Exporting alpacas in their first trimester of pregnancy runs a very great risk of losing the pregnancy which will not impress the purchaser. 4. If your animal(s) final destination is the UK, the animal(s) will have to pass BAS screening first. This is a requirement of the British Alpaca Society and has nothing to do with the export protocol. Screening is an attempt by BAS to ensure that only animals of a high standard, namely conformation and micron, will be permitted to be registered on the BAS register.It is expensive and you should obtain a quote from the British Alpaca Society before comtemplating exports to the UK. 5. Obtain a quotation for the cost of the export. The price quoted should include: • all quarantine and agistment charges of the nominated exporter. • AsureQuality site inspections, blood testing and Tb tests • Country of Origin ear tags and microchips • Transport to Auckland & MPI veterinary inspections before departure • MPI approved wooden crate for the transport of the animals. • Air freight to Europe, transit permits and airway bills 38

6. Remember NZ exporters will generally only quote for the NZ end of any export. Your client will have to arrange Customs Clearance at Heathrow and pay any customs and airport fees as well as VAT. 7. Strongly recommend that your client takes out insurance for the purchase of the alpaca(s) and the transit costs. If the animal dies, breaks a leg or its health becomes compromised as a result of stress during the journey, your client will appreciate some peace of mind. 8. Insist on a Sale and Purchase Agreement. The agreement should contain: • details of the animal(s) purchased, the cost of purchase in NZ dollars • a breakdown of costs as outlined in point five above. • You should state very clearly whether the animal(s) are pregnant. Never give a guarantee on the pregnancy as it is not uncommon to lose a pregnancy on the journey. • Ensure that you state what is NOT INCLUDED. Such things as: insurance, airport & customs fees at Heathrow, VAT, agricultural and veterinary fees at Heathrow and transport from Heathrow to your client’s property. 9. Invoicing and Payment Prepare a tax invoice that clearly states the name and address of both the purchaser and vendor. Clearly state the name(s)of the animal(s) purchased and the purchase price. There is NO GST to be charged as the animals are being exported. They are therefore, GST exempt.

So what is it going to cost to export? Every export is different and it is imperative that you seek a confirmed price in advance of any potential sale. Crates to the UK and EU are loaded on top of each other as double crates in the aircraft hold. A double crate can hold approximately 24 alpacas but the number will depend on total weight, the sex of the animals and if there are any cria on board. A lesser number of alpacas per crate will invariably increase the rate per alpaca. Another factor that can affect pricing are changes to airline schedules and amendment to EU regulations. Until recently animals were offloaded in Brussels, now it is Heathrow. If your animals are bound for the UK that is great news but for mainland Europe there are now extra charges for ground transport. Assuming that alpaca breeders work together and consolidate their exports and maximize the crate numbers, costs would be approximately: 1. Quarantine - NZ$1,000 per animal Price includes MPI inspections, veterinary attendances, blood samples and testing, micro-chipping, plastic ear tags, Tb testing, agistment, feeding, weighing of animals, transport to Auckland airport and compliancy costs. 2. Air Freight to London – NZ$2,500 per animal Price includes cost of alpaca crate, air freight, airway bill and general compliancy costs. Prices can and do change regularly. The above costs are given as a guideline only.

The export process – what happens? Any alpaca awaiting export to Europe must be at the property of the PEI (Pre Export Isolation) facility no later than 40 days prior to export. At 30 days the alpacas enter isolation or the PEI facility. From hereon in, there can be no further contact with other animals other than the animals for export. Asure Quality will inspect the facility to ensure everything is compliant with the regulations. Over the next 30 days, the animals will be weighed (airline requirement), microchipped, a plastic ear tag will be inserted (to show country of origin), Tb tested, blood will be taken for testing against any of the diseases described in the export protocol. At the Silverstream PEI facility the animals receive Matrix and Baycox against parasites and Profos to guard against stress on the long flight to Europe. During this period there are innumerable forms and declarations to be completed by the Exporter, PEI Facility Owner, MPI, Transport Provider, Freight Forwarder and the Airline. The animals are then loaded onto a truck with MPI supervision and each bay is sealed with a MPI tag. The truck has to be cleaned and disinfected before loading and documents signed. The animals are given hay and water for the journey to Auckland. The animals must be at Auckland International Airport at least four hours before departure.

Arrival at Auckland International Airport On arrival at Auckland International Airport, the alpacas are offloaded into specially prepared wooden crates, under supervision by an MPI veterinarian. The crates are amply supplied with good quality hay and fresh water for the long journey ahead. The microchips and ear tag numbers are all carefully checked against the documentation before loading into the crates. Each crate has an allocated number of alpacas based on the documentation. The animals are loaded onto a Singapore Airlines Boeing 747/400 series freighter aircraft for their journey to London. Steve Ridout (Wildflower Alpacas) joins the aircraft in Melbourne and stays on board all the way to London. Steve coordinates the air freight, transit permits, airway bills and the ordering of the crate. AUCKLAND TO MELBOURNE - 3 hours 2 hour stopover in Melbourne MELBOURNE TO SINGAPORE – 7.5 hours 2.5 hour stopover in Singapore SINGAPORE TO SHAJAH – 7.5 hours 1.5 hour stopover in Shajah SHAJAH TO LONDON - 7 hours 2 hours to unload animals from aircraft The animals are given water throughout the journey and the air conditioning is left on at all stopovers. The temperature is maintained at 12 degrees. 39

Arrival into Heathrow

Conclusion

The animals are unloaded from the aircraft and taken to animal stables at Heathrow. The animals are given fresh water and hay while they are checked over by the British agricultural veterinarians to verify that they are in good health. There will be random blood sampling done just to keep the officials happy that NZ have complied with the regulations.

Microchips and ear tags are checked against the documentation and all documents double-checked to ensure total compliance with the import regulations. After customs clearance and payment of VAT, the animals are then free to be collected by the owners. All imported animals must then have a 30 day isolation period in the UK or Europe before joining other animals. The isolation can be on the farm of the new owner and as long as other animals cannot come into contact with the recent arrivals, the importer is compliant with the regulations. Steve Ridout who organizes the air-freight is in attendance at all times to ensure the smooth transition through customs and agriculture services at Heathrow. The animals are readily identifiable by their distinctive plastic ear tags. Steve also assists with the loading of the animals. He also has the opportunity of making sure that all animals have arrived safely and are correctly delivered to the rightful owner. To reassure everyone, we have a good record of animals arriving in good health and without complications.

There is a huge market in Europe just waiting to be tapped.

2. Currently there are four or five alpaca breeders from NZ and Australia promoting heavily in Europe. Where are the others – there is huge potential. 3. Instead of being insular, we need to work as a team promoting the benefits of buying in New Zealand. The more NZ breeders we have promoting in Europe, the better it will be for the New Zealand industry. The message needs to be heard again and again and this can only be done with numbers. 4. It does not matter that you only own a few alpacas. Remember your alpaca can join other export animals and enjoy the same cost benefits. 5. The important thing to remember is to deliver what you promise and more if possible. Word of mouth is a very powerful tool when you are dealing with clients on the other side of the world. 6. An attractive website with detailed descriptions of your animals for sale with good photographs is essential. 7. Importers are not just after high quality alpacas – like us they have varying budgets but want to maximize their budget. Show results and fleece stats will assist in making sales. The rest is up to you – best of luck!

What Animal Am I is a stunning hard covered book which introduces young children to the ever increasingly popular farm animal – the alpaca. Real life photographs are used to compare alpacas to other popular animals loved by all children. This book teaches children about alpacas – what they look like and their lifestyle. Not only the perfect bedtime book but also a great learning tool to share with any young child.

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Cherry lane alpacas

Because alpacas are our passion We love alpacas, and we enjoy sharing our passion for alpacas with others. We have: -breeding stock -lifestyle pets -alpaca fleece -prize winning alpacas -for sale or to view Give us a call, email us or stop in for tea or coffee today. We would be happy to show you around our farm and introduce you to our alpacas and alpaca farming.

6 Sunnex road, RD2, Rotorua 41

the

MURRAY

T R O P M I BRUCE by Kit Johnson

Murray Bruce’s efforts and determination in convincing the New Zealand Government to establish a protocol with the Chilean authorities for the export of alpacas to New Zealand, paved the way for the development of the alpaca industry in New Zealand and for that matter Australia. Whilst alpacas and llamas had been introduced into Australia in 1850 and later into New Zealand, the imports had not been successful. The establishment of the Chilean protocol brought about a spate of applications to import large numbers of alpacas into New Zealand. With animals fetching up to NZ$25,000, the interest and competition was intense and the stakes very high. It needs to be acknowledged that without the determination and courage of Ian Nelson who successfully convinced the New Zealand Government to change the status of alpacas from a zoo animal to a farm animal, none of this could have happened. Murray Bruce was a successful cropping farmer in South Canterbury but like many farmers of the time, prices were depressed and he was keen to diversify. Farming patterns were changing and the government was encouraging the growth of new farming ventures. In 1985 Murray Bruce made regular trips to Wellington investigating alternative farming options – the idea of alpaca farming was born. Whilst still in Wellington, Bruce began negotiating to import alpacas aware that the protocol with Chile still had to be ratified. Several trips to South America ensued for the purpose of evaluating and selecting stock and finally on the 22/10/86, Bruce receives a permit to import 240 alpacas. He returned to Chile to purchase the animals, only to find later that the Chilean agricultural officials were stalling in giving their approval for the export of the animals. In March 1987, whilst still negotiating with the Chilean officials, Bruce is informed of an outbreak of foot and mouth disease. All animal exports are immediately suspended. 42

Frustrated, Bruce has to make the painful decision of whether to sell at a huge loss or to graze his animals in Chile in the hope that the Chilean government will receive a clearance at a later date. Bruce held out for 18 painful months and in August 1988, Chile was declared disease free. Ironically the protocol for the export of animals from Chile was finalized on the 20/07/87. A new permit for 300 alpacas was issued and Bruce receives a clearance to fly the animals rather than transporting them by ship. A setback occurs when an insect test reacted positively and the animals are held in quarantine for a further two weeks. On top of this there are further hassles with the South American authorities but this time, luck is on Bruce’s side when he discovers that MP Jim Sutton is visiting Chile at the time. With assistance from Mr Sutton and Mr Maxwell, the last hurdle is overcome. On 15/07/89 NZ Cameloid Imports Ltd representing a group of South Island farmers, import a group of 273 alpacas from Chile. The animals are loaded on a chartered Chilean Air Force Boeing 707 for a 22 hour flight to Wellington with stops at Easter Island and Tahiti. The animals were then air freighted to Somes Island in Wellington Harbour where they spend sixty days in quarantine. In 1988, 100 alpacas (87 females and 13 males) had been pre-sold to to MAFTech for research at Tara Hills Research Station. The Omarama region was considered to most resemble their Chilean environment – namely dry and cold. The objective was to study the nutritional responses of the alpacas in reproduction and in fibre production. The driving force behind the MAF involvement was commercial, arising directly from cutbacks in funding for research work. The research division was facing the prospect of finding 40% of its own budget by 1990. It embarked on a series of brainstorming sessions to identify money-making opportunities, one of which was alpacas and llamas. Between 1992 and 1998, 44 of the original imported females were sold back to Murray Bruce and associates. On the 16th of September 1989, the 100 MAFTech alpacas are transported to Tara Hills at Lowburn, near Omarama and 171 alpacas plus 60 progeny are transported to Mr Bruce’s farm (Willowbridge) bordering the Waihao River near Waimate.

Wellington businessman, Ron Inglis through his NZ Llama and Alpaca research Co Ltd agrees to buy half of the remaining herd. Inglis is president of the recently formed NZ Llama and Alpaca Breeders Association. Mr Peter O’hara (director of animal health), Mr Shultz (MAF veterinarian), Mr Kevin Corrin (MAF veterinarian and quarantine officer), Mr John Helstrum (chief veterinary officer) and Mr Stuart MacDiarmid (MAF animal health advisor) played an integral part in ensuring the animals met New Zealand’s strict animal health regulations. In April 1990 many of the imported animals plus offspring are sold to Australian breeders including Allan Jinks, Paul Carney, Berry Carter and Dr Maryanne Mathews. MAFTech were to also export 40 NZ born alpacas to Australia including 16 to Allan Jinks, 10 to Laurie Harrison and 14 to Ken Green and Geoff Halpin. The animals left New Zealand on a chartered aircraft. The herd codes Waihao and Camelid Farms will be well known to many of our readers – they were the herd codes used by Bruce family.

References: New Zealand Farmer – 28/08/86, 06/06/90 Rural News – 23/03/92 Timaru Herald -21/07/89, 20/10/98 Christchurch Press – 18/09/89, 29/09/89

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Quechua

Benefit The OTHER Path by Mike Safley

to her father’s inner world; taking with her almost all of the alpacas. But a few lingered and according to legend alpacas have populated the shores of Andean lakes and the snow fueled bofedales’ of the high Sierra ever since. Do you believe this myth? I asked “No-no” he replied. “I believe that alpacas came from God, showered on the altiplano like manna from heaven. Alpacas are God’s gift to the Quechua people meant to sustain them just as the manna sustained the Israelites in the wilderness.”

A vaguely shimmering halo crowned Mount Mistias the sun set. I asked Julio Barreda where alpacas came from. When Don Julio liked a question or an answer he typically responded by saying “Buenos” as he did when asked about the origins of the alpaca. Smiling he said that the Quechua pastoralists believed that alpacas came from the “inner” world. It seems there was a Princess of the inner world who fell innocently in love with a Quechua boy from the outer world. The only doorway between their mythical worlds was Lake Titicaca. The Princess’ father reluctantly agreed that his daughter could marry her new found love but he was worried that the young man would not be able to support her. He decided to send alpacas from his herd to the shores of the lake as a dowry. The “Apu’s” only condition was that the young man must take vigilant care of the alpacas. But the boy was lazy and not long after they were married a cria died from neglect. Ashamed the Princess instantly dove into the lake stroking her way back 44

The final interview for Alpacas: Synthesis of a Miracle had just concluded and Don Julio Barreda stood up from the table at La Posada Del Puente in downtown Arequipa; tugging his worn, sweat ringed hat firmly into place, he turned to leave. Suddenly he stopped; his walnut brown face creased in thought “Could you do anything for the children of my village?” he asked. My friend Mario, a dentist, who had been translating wondered if they needed dental services and Don Julio immediately responded: “Buenos”. Later that year, November 11, 1996 to be exact, Mario an alpaca breeder and several dental assistants made their way to Macusani a remote town high in the Andes. The mission started in a storm of anger when Don Julio was told that the missionaries could not use the town’s clinic facility as had been promised. It seems the local dentists were unanimously opposed to the gringos offering free care. They saw it as a threat to their business. Never mind that the patients to be served could not afford to pay for their services and that dental disease is one of the leading killers among third world populations. Julio Barreda stalked out of the clinic muttering in Quechua leaving us bewildered. We waited nervously. Peruvian society has no tradition of charity. The Mayor in Macusani told us that his town was so far from Limathat the government forgot that they were even there. He marveled that we gringos could even find them, “coming from a place so far that he knew not where.” A person who worked for one of the largest textile companies in Peruonce asked me why we chose to do dental clinics when all of the Indians had such good teeth. I remember his words every time I see puss oozing from the rotting teeth and gums of a small child. Peruhas a colonial mindset in which everyone exploits the person on the rung below. The Quechua are at the bottom of that ladder.

The dental chair was finally set up in the middle of a small bedroom in the Tejeda family’s home one block off of the plaza in Macusani. The family was a long time friend of Barreda’s and they took us in. The line of poor Quechua criadores’ stretched around the block, many of them barefoot in the freezing mid day sun, all of them waiting to see the gringo dentist. The children’s noses flattened on the bedroom window as they strained to see the “dentista” at work. The line did not shorten for the 7 days the clinic operated; from morning till night. Quechua Benefit was born. From that day forward the path was marked in front of us, seemingly clear and easy to follow. Quechua Benefit forged on, serving more than 60,000 patients in the ensuing 16 years. Today we conduct medical missions, cataract surgeries, optometry clinics, deliver disaster relief to remote alpaca breeders, support four orphanages and we are completing the children’s village we call Casa Chapi for 100 young residents most of whom come from homes that cannot afford their keep or they have no families at all. This year we will feed 78,000 hot meals in the courtyard of the church in Yanque through the Sister Antonia feeding program. Each of these programs is a step on a straight forward path. The other path was initially invisible. On the second day of the clinic Don Julio stood in front of the Tejeda house talking with the people in line. Small barefooted children grabbed at his legs. Shy women in clouds of ballooning red and turquoise skirts, many of them single mothers, their shoulders pulled square by the baby tied in a warm blanket across their back came up and glancing down shyly at the dirt street they offered their hand in thanks. Barreda turned to me and said “The bible tells us to let the children come to you.” Over the years that sentence has echoed through my mind just as a catchy tune lives on in ones ears, occasionally re-playing its melody, never quite going away. The other path suddenly had its first faint foot prints but no one seemed to notice. Quechua Benefit soon began to extend their mission beyond Macusani, Peru, particularly the highlands, is a difficult place to find your way. There are no road signs and many of the locations where Quechua Benefit goes are not even on the map. The most reliable directions often come from a Quechua speaker who usually indicates the path to our destination with a wave of their hand. We learned early on in our journeys that the most reliable contacts for our work were the Catholic priests and nuns whose churches seemed to appear on every town square no matter how small. They are often the last social safety net for the poorest people and are always reliable partners in seeing that the goods and services we sought to deliver to the poorest Quechua found their rightful place. Since that first trip in 1996 we have visited more than 60 small Andean villages. There were often sisters and churches there to assist our teams. As time went on and sometime after we began Casa Chapi I began to read the Bible, a gift from fellow Quechua Benefit Board member Dr. Wayne Jarvis. I searched to find the verse that Julio Barreda referred to on that second day of our first mission trip to Macusani. I found it in Luke 18:15 and just as Julio said, it tells us to “let the children come to me” and adds the admonishment “do not hinder them..,” The other path began to come into focus; a trail of translucent light. As I continued to read the bible James became my favorite book in the New Testament. There are two passages that I cannot get out of my mind; James 1:27, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father is this: to visit widows and orphans in their affliction..,” and James 2:17 “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

I cite these Bible passages, not for the purpose of attributing the work of Quechua Benefit as being Christian or any other religion for that matter but for the purpose of identifying what I believe is the spirituality that animates the benefactors of the charity. Quechua Benefit is supported by people of many faiths from the most personal to the most institutional. Some may be completely non religious but each supporter of Quechua Benefit endeavors to help someone far less fortunate than themselves: pure religion. Each time a tooth is pulled and the pain subsides an act of faith is complete. The care giver must have faith in the outcome of the treatment and the patient must have faith in the essentially anonymous care giver. When someone receives eye glasses that bring a smile to their face our world becomes a brighter place. An antibiotic delivered to a sick Quechua child by a team doctor completes a kind deed. Donors from around the world send their money through the internet or by mail to help people who they may never even see, do so because it is the right thing to do—deeds are more important than words. Like most of us the Quechua, who are a spiritual people, pray in times of need. Their child might be at risk of death or afflicted by birth defects. The people they pray for, the ones with pneumonia or abscessed teeth or the ones blinded by cataracts or who could not read a book at school before Quechua Benefits mission team followed a faint path to their village and provided eye glasses are the recipients of acts of faith. On occasion the Quechua Benefit volunteers become an answer to their prayers The capacity of volunteers to do good is remarkable. Volunteerism is born of the idea that the more fortunate among us should give back. It is sustained by sacrifices of time, treasure, personal comfort and sometimes ones safety. During our last mission 16 volunteers braved airline cancellations and lack of sleep to find themselves on a pitch black night snaking their way down the mountain through a series of razor sharp switch backs on the road to Chivay. Suddenly as the bus rounded a hairpin turn it slammed into a 4’ high pile of asphalt left in the middle of the narrow road by a construction crew. No warning lights, safety crews or detours, just bloodied lips, lumps and stiff backs as the bus staggered to a halt a few feet from the edge of the road and a deep dark rock strewn raven that stretched for hundreds of yards below. Each volunteer on that bus was at the 7:00 am breakfast the next morning before making their way to the clinic and lines of Quechua people waiting to be served by gringos from a far off land. The spirit of volunteerism is strong in Quechua Benefit. As Quechua Benefit builds Casa Chapi and continues the medical missions, dental missions, provides eyeglasses and cataract surgeries, delivers wheel chairs, and provides funds for sister Antonia’s feeding program it is amazing to witness the unique paths that people take to deliver of an act of charity. Some come from as far away as Australia and others from the U.S., Canada, England and parts of Europe. Each of them arriving in the highlands of Peruto help a people they have never met and may never see again: paths of righteousness. The other path was not initially envisioned by anyone save perhaps Julio Barreda, but it is paved with the footprints of people with good hearts from around the world. People simply motivated by their own personal faith, convictions, good will and charity. The other path is one devoid of labels, numbers, outcomes, miles traveled or material accomplishment. It is a simple spiritual journey that has led Quechua Benefit sponsors to do whatever good they may do. We need each of you no matter which road you take. 45

A DAY IN THE

LIFE ...of an alpaca Judge by Sarah Busby

When I was asked to write this article my first reaction was “From which perspective do you want it written? Do you want it in general terms?” The answer came back that I was to “write it from a personal perspective, tell us what motivated you to be a Judge, how did you get there and what do you think about when judging” Tackling the first part of what motivated me to be a Judge, I could be flippant and say it is fame and fortune that drives me but of course there is no fame and fortune involved, just lots of hard work, plenty of angst, plenty of traveling, lots of self doubt, years of training and an overarching desire to do a good job. I ought at this point tell you all that I am a relative newcomer to breed judging, but have been judging fleeces for a good number of years now, so on one hand I am a newbie and on the other I am more experienced. I have been breeding huacaya alpacas for almost 10 years and have a background in pure science research when I lived in the UK. We retired out here for a quiet life but of course, it is not realistic to sit around and do nothing with ones time so we bought some alpacas. 2 turned into 100 and a hobby became a passion and the seed was sown. I like a challenge and I am certainly very project driven or goal driven but I do not like to set unrealistic goals, rather, I like to move towards achievable goals then reset my goals and move forwards again. The AANZ created a professional, supportive and clearly defined pathway or framework for training a new intake of potential Judges a few years ago and it was then that I began my training. I joined because it was a challenge and I could see the importance of giving something 46

back to the industry around which I was hoping to make a successful business. I am definitely the sort of person who pitches in to help or take part rather than one who looks from the sidelines but wants others to do things for me. I can’t change my nature, it is the way I have done things all my life. I am a do-er. However there were aspects of judging that appealed to me and other aspects that frightened the living daylights out of me so I selected to train as a fleece Judge first. I left breed judging alone because of my fear of talking to exhibitors using a microphone. The training program began with an examination/assessment weekend where candidates sat a written exam and carried out some trait selection tests. Following a successful assessment there was two years of apprenticeships and intensive training weekends. During that time the skills of trait selection that we already had were fine-tuned and we learned how to use those skills in a show scenario. Ring craft, show craft, time management and strategies for keeping information in order in your mind etc were of huge importance. After qualifying to judge fleeces only, I then took the plunge to rejoin the training program to attempt to become a breed Judge. Being asked to judge a show is first and foremost a huge honour. A convenor wants their show to be successful, not only from a financial perspective for their A & P but also from an exhibitor’s point of view too. The Judge is central to the success of the show. Being asked to take on this role makes me feel very honoured indeed. A Judge carries a huge amount of responsibility upon their shoulders. For me, this is the aspect that has the greatest impact. How each judge conducts themselves in and out of the ring, how they interact with exhibitors in and out of the ring, how they handle the alpacas in the ring, and how they deliver their oral reasoning to the exhibitors and wider public all rest upon the Judge’s shoulders. Coupled with that the judge has to carry out trait selection accurately and consistently throughout the day. The breeders exhibiting in the last classes of the day deserve exactly the same level of input from the Judge as those in the first classes. I certainly acknowledge that each decision I make has the potential to create a positive or negative impact upon that exhibitors breeding program. Along side that there is the impact that a decision might have upon a breeders business. A string of good results can be viewed by others as an endorsement of that breeders alpacas and may lead to sales. Likewise a string

of negative results may have a detrimental impact upon sales. This is a responsibility I certainly recognize and it continually reminds me that I need to do my very best job when judging. It is not all about a pretty piece of satin ribbon for an exhibitor, it goes deeper than that. Keeping focused, maintaining consistency and smiling throughout the day are essential functions. It can be a tall order! There are inevitably some knocks and bruises, no show goes by without one or two (sometimes more) serious bruises being acquired from the top of ones foot to the shins and even the thighs. No part of the Judge is exempt from a bit of battery. Probably it is worst when you get kicked in exactly the same place by different alpacas during the day. It is nobody’s fault, it cannot be avoided but it can bring tears to your eyes. We keep smiling and making light of it but goodness me, sometimes it can really hurt! Earlier I have mentioned the word focused. It is widely held belief amongst some breeders that Judges may make a decision based on who is holding the alpaca at the end of the rope. “You take my alpaca in the ring, that Judge doesn’t like me” or “you take my alpaca into the ring, that Judge seems to like you”. I can honestly say with my hand on my heart that when we judge, we are so focused on our tasks that we often have no knowledge or recollection of who has been at the end of a lead rope. We also rarely see or have time to look at all the people standing around the ring. Focus is intense. It is tiring remaining so focused throughout a period of 8 hours or so, out in the elements, often cold, sometimes boiling hot and frequently wet. Exhibitors say they don’t know how a Judge can remember it all, “how do you remember which alpaca faded around the shoulder and which had the greatest lustre?” The answer is easy, you remain focused, you concentrate all through the day and you develop a strategy for keeping things in order in your head. Doing it is the hard bit. For me, when giving my oral reasoning using the microphone, I replay in my head exactly what I saw. Firstly I replay what I saw from the outside when the alpaca walked into the ring, then I remember exactly what it felt like when I first put my hands on it, then I recount what I saw when I parted the fleece. I keep my oral reasoning logical as it helps me to remain accurate. It might sound boring to the exhibitor but it is the only way I can do it at this early stage in my career. I like to say it as I see it and I prefer to use expressions that come naturally to me. Each exhibitor will already know the best (and possibly worst) features of their alpaca, it is nice to see breeders nod in acknowledgement when you comment about a feature that they too know is there. It gives us positive feedback through the day and helps our confidence levels. When an exhibitor hears that you have accurately seen and commented upon what they too have seen, they will have the confidence to believe you if you also point out traits that they might not have seen in their alpaca. An accurate oral description can be affirming and also educational. I often say Judging is all about degrees. Not University degrees nor 360 degrees but degrees of difference. We use slight degrees of difference to make our selections. It is hard however to describe negative traits in a way that will not offend the exhibitor. These negative points are not necessarily big or bad but there has to be a method through which we place alpacas in order. Balancing these traits and ordering them in their importance is what it is all about. Thinking about the breed standards, the importance of ‘form and function’, the commercial aspects of fibre production are three very important aspects to consider when putting

your line-up in order. It certainly is hard to balance or judge between an exquisite fleece upon a tiny or poor frame versus a good fleece upon a sound frame. Does exquisite trump good? A logical thought process is important and degrees of fineness, degrees of density, degrees of uniformity are all brought into play. There are bound to be differences between how each individual Judge prioritises these traits in their own unique decision making process. That is what makes no two shows the same. The elements. There are many elements that come together on show day that make it what it is. Firstly there are natural elements. Any of you who exhibited at Ellemere 2012, my very first breed show as a newly qualified breed Judge, will remember the nameless tropical depression that struck NZ on October 13th. We had torrential rain, driving, biting winds and a showground that was devoid of public and trade stands by lunchtime, all except for us hardy, fearless, determined alpaca breeders for whom the show had to go on. We had been given permission from the President of the A & P to stop the show but we soldiered on. Three burly men to each guy rope and tent pole, oilskins and an ability to carry your alpaca into the ring were essential skills on that day. I remember giving Kit Johnson poor marks for his rear leg set as he struggled to carry his alpaca from the pens to the tent. Flexibility is the name of the game at times! Let’s not forget the other essential elements. Stewards - Chief, Ring and Assembly. You will hear more from them elsewhere but a good group of stewards makes a Judge’s life so much easier. We are all there to create a successful day for everybody and working with your stewards, understanding their role and their unique challenges too make for a smoother operation. So, down to the nitty gritty. A day in the life of a Judge. We get up, shower, dress smartly and respectfully without too much bling and no perfume so as not to upset the alpacas. We await collection whilst keeping our nerves in check. We arrive at the show a little before judging starts, talk to our stewards and arrange our ring with regard to who enters where, the direction they walk in and depart from etc. We are polite and greet the organisers, then promptly we get the show on the road. We concentrate, we smile, we concentrate again, we might smile again but soon the concentration overwhelms us and the smiling might cease. We forget to drink enough water, sometimes we talk too much on the microphone, sometimes we lose our train of thought. We might panic from time to time but then we get a grip and things go along nicely. Lunch 47

is usually a quick break, just long enough to realize that our feet hurt already and we have only got through 1/3rd of the entries. Post lunch we might be a bit more prone to losing our train of thought as the blood is not keeping our brains lubricated, it is all down in our stomachs dealing with the ham and salad. We rub our bruises and we try to secretly remove the blobs of fleece from under the armpits of our jackets where for some reason they always collect. We try not to look like a monkey at that point! Sometimes blobs of fibre migrate up to the top of our trouser legs too, that is not a good look. Our glasses seem to fall from our noses and we worry that the wind has blown our neat hair-dos into hay stacks. What must the audience think? We worry, then we carry on. Eventually we select our Supremes out of some fabulous looking line-ups. It begins to feel good. When you see a gorgeous line up of top class exhibits awaiting your selection of Supreme you realize that you have probably

done OK. There are no Llama characteristics on display, no bad conformation evident and you would like to own each one yourself. Then you can relax. Your Supreme will be a worthy winner and you can smile again. Sometimes after the show there is a sausage sizzle, you might have a chance to talk to exhibitors and there are the essential thank-yous to be done. So many people come together to oil the wheels of a show day. Each one volunteers, none do it for fame and fortune. From time to time you might get a photo opportunity with a famous person at the show (see photo, it is reflected glory though, not true fame and fortune). Most do it for the enjoyment of a wider group of friends and for the good of the industry, of which we are all part. After a show there is plenty of self-doubt. I reflect upon things I could have done better or differently and I probably over analyse my day. Later, out of the blue the phone will ring. “Oh Yes, I would love to judge your show, I am honoured that you chose me…”

...of a Convenor by Debbie Wallace

I ‘volunteered’ as the convenor of the Oxford Show last year when Martin handed me the job as he was heading off to Europe to attend a few alpaca shows and the World Alpaca Conference in Oxford UK.

some free marketing has to be good. Then it was time to sit back and enjoy some whitebait (thanks Ann and Malcolm), some excellent company and a couple of beers before packing up the pens and the animals and the drive home.

I must admit to being a bit daunted at the prospect of putting the Show together plus managing our own animals and working full time but it all came together thanks to a lot of help from some great people. In fact I had such a great time on show day that I’ve deposed Martin and taken on the job myself for this year.

Not that we didn’t have any hassles in the 2012 version of the show. Assembling the pens was an interesting exercise as Oxford do not own the gates and so borrow these from Rangiora A&P. Unfortunately the trailer on which the gates were transported broke down at Bennetts (ironic that isn’t) and so Kevin & Lesley Burgess and myself had to move these from one trailer to one another and then take them back to Oxford where the rest of the working party were assembling the pens (Steve Davy, Barry Bishop, Sue Wise). A job that was supposed to take an hour on a Sunday afternoon turned into a major mission.

We have been very fortunate to have glorious weather each year at Oxford and 2012 was no different with a beautiful day being bestowed on us once more. At 7.45am we had no show ring or stewards’ tent which was a little bit stressful but with some delegation we were ready for judging to kick off at the scheduled time of 8.30am. With just over 90 animals entered judging of the Supreme was complete by 2.00pm which allowed as many animals as possible to participate in the Grand Parade. Any chance of

The 2013 version of the show sees me as Convenor from start to finish and so far so good. The schedule is up on the website, I’ve created a Facebook page for the show, entries are pouring in (well I hope they are), sponsorship has gone very well, the stewards are confirmed, the Judge is as

keen as mustard, the ribbon order is done, and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve even attended a meeting of the A&P committee with the principal aim of ensuring we do not have the same drama we did last year with the gates. In the next month I need to design the catalogue, pick up the ribbons, ensure the Supreme trophies are returned, develop the pen layout and organise a time for the working party to assemble the pens. Plus there are more than likely quite a few things I havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t as yet thought of!

My main goal for 2013 is for entries to hit the 100 mark which will be a big increase from the 68 alpacas we had back in 2010. For me one of the most important parts of attending a show is the opportunity to see how well our breeding program is doing plus the chance to catch up with fellow exhibitors who are now also very valuable friends. If I can create a show and an environment that allows that to occur then I believe the show will be a success.

...of a Steward by Mark and Mary-Ann Pruden

THE GOOD LIFE OF A STEWARD It's Saturday morning and away we go It's time to head off to another show No loading of animals and the rest of the gear Just pick up the stewarding bag and make our way there We watch as exhibitors unload all their floats All we do is put on our white coats Catalogues and numbers are then collected Animals for colour checks have all been inspected The judge arrives and is sure looking smart The first class assembles, we are ready to start The day progresses well in the lovely warm sun Remaining relaxed to make the show fun The trusty ring steward has the ribbons all ready To help make the show run smoothly and steady As the judging's completed, another show ends It's off with the coats and catch up with friends No loading of animals and packing up gear That's it for this show, at least till next year. On a more serious note. We really enjoy and get a lot out of Stewarding. It has enabled us to meet many people that we would not have met otherwise and visited a variety of places. We have also been privileged to be involved as stewards at a number of AANZ national shows. To anyone thinking they may like to be a steward, don't just think about it. We find stewarding to be a very rewarding way to be part of our industry along with the many people involved, convenors, exhibitors, judges and other volunteers. www.alpacas-nz.co.nz

GREENACRES

FIBRE PROCESSING Formerly Tai-Tapu Wool Carders & Spinners Available for your alpaca requirements - washing & carding, blending with wool and spinning. We can not spin straight alpaca, it has to be blended 80/20 alpaca-wool mix. Pricing available on our website: www.greenacresfibres.co.nz

ALPACAS PLAY THEIR PART

IN AN INTEGRATED FARMING SYSTEM by Sue Richards - Surico Alpaca

About a year ago we were approached by a couple of representatives from a local Trust, enquiring about the potential for alpaca to graze their worm farm. They had already done quite a lot of research and investigations had led them to alpaca because of their soft feet and light impact on the ground. These were important criteria for their mission of finding an animal that would graze between the heaped up mounds of the worm farm without doing significant damage. At first, as we launched into our sales spiel, we didn’t appreciate the scale of their operation but this quickly came apparent as they modestly revealed the facts of their modern and integrated farming system. The worm farm, an area of 8Ha half already in worms, supplies potting mix for the native plant nursery, which in turn supplies plants for the fenced off water ways on the farm. The worms are fed on the clippings, discarded plants and produce from the glasshouses, all 26 acres of them. Supplying both local 50

and export markets, the glasshouses grow tomatoes and capsicums in separate areas. There are tons of vegetation in the form of clippings and discarded plants to be disposed of, from this operation alone. Solids are separated from the cowsheds on the dairy units and this is also added to the worm rows, thousands of dairy cows compromise this area of their business. A brand new milk powder factory was being built when we visited and they had been granted resource consent to use the sludge, which is a highly concentrated waste from the factory, on the worm rows as well, this sludge has a pungent smell and disposal is usually a problem. A geothermal power station also owned by the Trust, directly across the road from the new dairy factory provides energy for these projects and puts anything left over into the National Grid, unused steam is piped to heat the glasshouses. All this, along with thousands of beef, deer and sheep have a huge beneficial impact on the economy of the district. So where do our alpaca fit in this picture? We arranged to trial some alpaca for grazing among the raised beds of worms with agreement that the Trust would buy them at the end of the 3 months if they didn’t damage the worm rows. The Trust arranged for a small area to be fenced temporarily with a mustering pen at one end. We delivered 6 entire suri males about 3 years or older, who hadn’t made it as studs and were now too old for pets. After a few weeks we were all surprised to see how much they had eaten and the area had to be enlarged.

The alpaca settled in well, with the ladies working in the nursery feeding them with nuts and befriending them. It is interesting that they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t fight or tussle except when we appear. One of the main concerns was that they would damage the worm rows by trampling or rolling, but they walk across carefully or jump without destroying them. The temporary fences are 3 wires and waratah standards and they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t challenge them, which is just as well or it would cause a bit of a drama if they got into the nursery. At the end of the trial, everyone was confident enough they would do the job which was to eat the grass between the rows without damaging the worm farm operation. This would cut down on mowing, labour costs, fuel costs and compaction. They have also used these boys to clean up a summer dry waterway ready for planting plants from the nursery. The trust purchased these 6 males and another 4 at the end of the trial and at the time of writing we are providing them with another 10. The use for the alpaca might not stop there. One of the on-going challenges for the glass house management is the use of synthetic twine used for tying up the tomatoes and capsicum, this has to be extracted from the vegetation before it is applied to the worm rows. So the search is on for a biodegradable twine that is strong enough to hold up the tremendous weight of the plants. Just maybe, in conjunction with one of the 60 varieties of flax grown at the Trust, the higher micron alpaca fleece could find a use by being made into a suitable biodegradable twine and complete the integrated cycle. 51

2012 Canterbury A & P Assn Richard Lemon with his wife Barbara, together with alpaca judge – Amanda VandenBosch and exhibitors.

150

CANTERBURY

A&P SHOW by Anne Rogers

The 150th Canterbury Show marked an amazing milestone for the Canterbury A & P Association. On June 6, 1862 about 50 representatives from around Canterbury, meeting at the White Hart Hotel, created the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association.

The Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral exhibition of October 22, 1862 aimed to show the best of rural endeavour for all to see – farmers, runholders and public alike. Along with merinos, NZ bred beef cattle, pigs, poultry draught horses, thoroughbred horses, there was an impressive array of Canterbury-manufactured implements, plus prizes awarded for cart harnesses, whippletrees, butter, cheese and the best stock whip. The show was held in a paddock just north of Latimer Square. The Town Hall had been decorated for a ball the night before. After the show much of the prize money was returned and put into the kitty for the next show along with the gate takings of £155 10s 6d. The following year “called the Cattle show, and incorporating horse, sheep and pig exhibitors, that event of Thursday, October 6, 1863 was held in temporary yards in Market Place (today’s Victoria Square) The Lyttleton Times reported that “nearly all the stockowners in the Province were present, and most of the inhabitants of Christchurch and the neighbourhood”, this despite the nature of the boggy paddock that was then Market Place, pockmarked as it was with water-filled holes where gravel had been excavated to surface Ferry Road. * Seventy or 80 members sat down to an extensive 2 o’clock lunch meeting (excellent in all respects, save one, there was a lack of wine” reported the Lyttleton Times), where it was acknowledged by all present that England’s cattle and livestock shows contributed greatly toward the improvement of stock, and that horticultural and agricultural shows were equally valuable in Canterbury. And so here we are 150 years later on with alpacas present at the Canterbury A & P Show as a judged section since 2000. (For several years prior ALANZ (Alpaca and lLama Association of NZ) had held a trade site to publicise and promote alpacas).

Amanda VandenBosch from Flying Dutchman Alpacas in the US judged both the fleece and breed Alpaca sections. Her professional, confident and judging manner has earnt her a popular worldwide reputation and our exhibitors were quick to admire the depth and recall of her full and educational critiques. We were all appreciative too of her sense of humour and her willingness to share her wealth of experience in both judging and breeding. The fleece section this year was augmented with a fabulous display of alpaca fashion and special mention should be made here of the efforts of Donna Hitchcox, Ineke van Neuren and Sue Wise. On the first day of the breed judging our section was visited by the current President Mr Richard Lemon and his wife dressed in the attire of the 1800’s – it was also Richard’s birthday, so of course we all sang him happy birthday in the alpaca show ring. Prince Charles and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall were to visit the show and had been scheduled to pass through the alpaca penning area, however, due to too much dancing in Cathedral Square with earthquake survivors they were late to the show and hence had to shortcut their visit and we didn’t see them. An anniversary book was published at the end of 2013 to mark the 150th show and those that live in Canterbury are encouraged to purchase a copy as there are still some available – it is a really interesting book, full of illustrations and photos and lots of little amusing stories – anyone interested in the agricultural and pastoral history of New Zealand will really enjoy this easy to read and wonderfully illustrated edition.

Prince Charles and Camilla present for the Grand Parade.

Supreme Champion Suri Fleece – Surico Maya bred and owned by B, H & S Richards. Supreme Champion Huacaya Fleece – Silverstream Icarus bred and owned by K & S Johnson.

You can still purchase copies from the Canterbury A & P Association office.

*from: When Country Come to Town – A Celebration of the 150th Anniversary Agricultural & Pastoral Association and Show – by Rosa Shiels

Part of the 2012 Alpaca Fleece Section display.

ASSUME

NOTHING by Heather Goffin

Some readers may recall the survival of twins Tahi (5.5kg) and Tiny Tim (Timmy, 2.8kg, NZ Alpaca Magazine, Autumn 2009). As time has progressed, Timmy’s growth has stopped as approximately that of a normal 6-month-old. During the winter of 2010 the twins remained with the female herd because there was nowhere else for them to be and because Tahi had been castrated whereas Timmy hadn’t grown anything to castrate. Eventually when one tiny testicle was spotted the decision to castrate was put off until the second one arrived as he “couldn’t achieve anything anyway” because of his size, age and lack of two fully formed testicles. His owner commented “dream on, little squirt” when she noticed him “mounting” one of the females in the herd one day, confident in the belief “he couldn’t achieve anything anyway”. Timmy’s one testicle was eventually castrated (at full price) before the twins were moved into the ‘boys’ paddock, and no one could work out why the female Bonnie wouldn’t sit for her first mating and how she could eventually give birth when she had never sat for a male! DNA tests have confirmed that possibly the smallest male in New Zealand has sired a cria. The male Gilead Tiny Tim, (Timmy) was only about 16 to 17 months old at the time of the cria’s conception. Whilst this is not unheard of in a determined male, what is surprising is that he had grown just one tiny testicle the size of a large pea and he himself was no bigger than a 4 month old cria at the time.

The moral of the story – “Size does not matter and boys will be boys”.

PHOTOS: Top: Bonnie and her new son. Middle: The boys' paddock – Twins and boys. Bottom: Tiny Tim birth weight. 54

DOUBLE

â&#x20AC;&#x160;TROUBLE by Wayne and Sandra Allison - Stoney Meadows Alpacas

Stoney Meadows Alpacas welcomed little Hammersley into the world on March 15. Everything went according to plan with Crystal (the mum) an experienced and good mother. However a few days later we noticed that Crystal was unwell and sitting in the barn on her own. Sadly Crystal passed away within a few minutes of the vet arriving. The question was then what to do about little Hammersley who was only 5 days old at this stage. Obviously the answer was to bottle feed him, and thankfully he took to the bottle with gusto. Most times we only had to take the bottle over to the fence and he would come running over, drink the milk quickly and get back to his paddock mates. Over a period of time (3-4 weeks) it became more and more difficult for us to get him to accept the bottle. We suspected he was getting a feed somewhere else as he was in a paddock with several mums and babies. From time to time we saw him going to the other mums trying to feed but could not actually see him suckle , and often came away covered in spit from the other mothers. When Hammersley was about 5 weeks old our last cria was born on the farm. Hammersley tried to suckle off each new mother, but they all told him to go away. Hammersley and the last cria to be born seemed to spend most of their time together. At this point, we decided to put him, the new mum and baby into a separate paddock. Sure enough he went looking for the milk bar and was able to have a drink. Persistence on his part had paid off and he was accepted by the new mum who, happily agreed to feed both as can be seen from the photos. We continued to offer the bottle but this was rejected. We have weighed both crias weekly and both are putting on weight. Mum is receiving plenty of supplementary feed: hay, lucerne and oaten chaff, dried peas, crushed oats. At this stage she is maintaining condition and we are naturally happy with the outcome. We had the vet here a few days ago scanning females and while here, we took the opportunity for the two cria to be checked. Both were in good health and doing well. What started off as a happy story (new cria) quickly turned to disaster (death of Crystal) and then back to a happy outcome. It is now two months on and at time of writing this and all are doing well. 55

NEW MEMBER

PROFILE Carey & Warwick King - Wanganui

New Member Profile: Each issue AANZ profiles a new member, taken from a draw from the ranks of those who have joined the Association since the last magazine. This issue we feature Carey & Warwick King from Wanganui.

by Jenny Durno

Carey and Warwick quietly watched alpacas for nearly five years before they were in a position to take any home. They were the people standing near the pens with an armload of brochures and business cards, pointing out hopefully at first one then another doe-eyed beauty to each other.

So, you were inundated with owners pressing their animals on to you?

Carey: “No, not really. It was hard to catch people’s attention. They were all really busy showing. It wasn’t really the right place to talk to people about alpacas. We did finally approach someone to ask some questions.” In five years of attending A & P Shows and hanging around the pens, the Kings found the information and finally the animals they were looking for online. They took possession of their two hectare block, four kilometres from the centre of Wanganui, in September 2012. The alpacas arrived shortly thereafter.

What were your alternatives to alpacas at the time? “We didn’t want to get big animals as they would be too hard to handle, although we have a neighbour’s cow in here at the moment to keep the grass down. She’s all right and we might get one of our own. We looked at miniature horses but the maintenance put us off. Apparently you have to trim their feet every couple of months. Mind you, our white alpacas are going to need their toes done more than every six months, I think.”

Do you have any other animals? “Apart from the cow, we have two dogs, two cats, and 30 fish in a trough which is in the garden. Oh, and another 30 fish inside…”

Any regrets about getting into alpacas, lessons to pass on? “Do it! We don’t regret it at all. All we recommend to people is to find out all about it including the negatives; go in with your eyes open. All we heard was how easy they are and so on, but truly, they are animals, so some do get sick and it is helpful to understand how, and what to do about it.” One of their young animals got staggers, which they found very worrying. A couple of calls and some Vitamin B and she is all right again, but Carey would have preferred to know up front that it could happen and what to do about it. And yes, they are up to speed with the need for zinc nuts to prevent FE. Carey and Warwick bought six Huacayas of varying colours: two wethers, (roan grey and white) as pets, to amuse the grandchildren with haltered walks on the weekends, two experienced mums (brown and mid-fawn) who are pregnant, and two younger females (light fawn.)

“We chose the older mums because Marg and Heather (Gilead Alpacas) have been very helpful but they are an hour away, and what do the vets know? We wanted girls who knew more about what they were doing than we did.”

What made you join the Alpaca Association? “It was the first thing we did. We wanted the support and the education - the Black Book is fantastic. We don’t have any Internet connection at the moment although we can get on sometimes through someone else and it is so good to have that resource.”

What are you planning to do with the alpacas? Carey told me that they were breeding for pets and for fleece, although she was not sure whether they would be able to part with any individuals when the time came. “But we have plenty of time for that. We reckon we can get 18 alpacas on our two hectare block. You should see the grass we can produce! So we will be out there looking for more.”

And the fleece? “I will spin it. I am a knitter, so I will have to get lessons on spinning, and one day I might get a loom and get into weaving, although I see that more as a winter project. I will be practising on the carpet quality fleece first.”

Are you going to get into showing? “Not sure about that…let’s wait and see what we produce…”

What do your neighbours think? “We have plenty of people slowing down to look at them! We told one neighbour we were thinking about it and he promptly went out and bought three for himself! There is someone with four over the back, too.”

Are the grandchildren happy with them? “The seven year old thinks they are clean and tidy, because they put their tails up neatly when they visit the poo pile. We have just put in post and rail fencing and she wants us to put signs out, telling the birds not to poop on it. When we said we didn’t think they would be able to read the signs she told us to write it in twigs! The cow has also got into trouble for not raising her tail enough…”

Do you have a day job? “Yes, afraid so. Carey is an Account Manager for the Wanganui branch of ASB and Warwick is Facilities Manager for Wanganui Hospital.”

So you have to race home to get to see your alpacas? “It only takes us 10 minutes to get home. But yes, most of our alpaca fun comes on the weekend. We shifted them into our big paddock on the weekend. They make me laugh when you see them running from one end to the other. The young ones look like spring lambs bouncing along, or should that be springing along?” ‘Pronking’, Carey, it’s called ‘pronking’.

So quite a community for you to share knowledge and train your local vets?

“It never fails to amaze me how something with such long skinny legs can bounce quite so well on all four legs. Poor Clarissa (brown mum) looks more like the stumbling reindeer in ‘The Santa Claus’, mind you she is due in a couple of weeks...”

“I hope so!”

And that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?

ADVERTISING BREEDER

PROFILE Cilla Taylor and Des Kan Trading as Wild Palette Suri

Advertising Breeder Profile: Our featured breeders were drawn from the pool of advertisers from the previous magazine. If you would like a chance to have your profile featured in the Alpaca magazine, make sure you advertise in the next issue of New Zealand Alpaca.

by Jenny Durno

Tell us who you are? What is your life without Alpacas?

How many have you got? Huacaya, Suri? What colours, ages?

We’re Cilla Taylor and Des Kan, of Wild Palette Suri. We both have real estate backgrounds. Des owns a commercial real estate business situated on Auckland’s North Shore and he also manages a lot of commercial property in that area; I used to sell real estate as well and once owned a real estate agency but now I teach real estate to people entering the industry. I contract to Unitec, my classes finish at 1pm each day so I have the afternoons to concentrate on alpacas.

There are around 140 all up, including boys. All colours, but we are concentrating on blacks and greys. I know that to improve blacks, browns and fawns will come along too, and that’s OK. And of course there are also some whites and light fawns. The herd is mostly Suri, all the breeding males are Suri, and all the cria except one have been Suri this year. According to our latest TB certificate there were 62 females of breeding age and 19 that were coming up a year of age as at the beginning of January this year.

So now, why Alpacas? What got you started? We moved to the country from suburban Auckland in the year 2000, with the intention of growing olives. We bought 32 acres in Dairy Flat, and planted a lot of olive trees in a couple of paddocks but we soon discovered that we needed something to eat the rest of the grass. There were a few horses agisted on the property but there weren’t enough to keep the grass in check, so I decided to look for an interesting type of animal to graze the rest of the property. I googled “exotic grazing animals” and found alpacas. I had never met one, but decided that they were what we wanted. I found two old huacaya females for sale locally and bought them without exactly mentioning it to Des. He always says that I went out to the supermarket and came home with a couple of alpacas. Alpacas were harder to come by then, and much more expensive – but yes, I did surprise him with them. 58

Did you have a plan for your alpacas when you started out? Were you breeding for fleece, pets, or something else? Have your plans changed at all? Yes the plans have certainly changed! Well, more correctly, the plans have been formed. There wasn’t much of a plan to begin with – we were just breeding to improve what we had and it didn’t matter much what came along as long as it was healthy and better than its mother. Actually, for years, we had male cria predominantly, which made it difficult to build up a breeding herd. At one stage, out of a run of 14 births, 13 were male. For the last couple of years though we’ve had more females than males, which is nice.

How many can you accommodate where you are? What will you do when you reach capacity? We moved a couple of years ago because we had run out of room in Dairy Flat. With the drought this summer, we’re running out again. But if we sell some cows we’ll gain more space for the alpacas, so we’re probably OK for a while. Well, we will be OK once we’ve sold the cows... does anyone want to buy any highland cattle?

What are you doing with the fleece? What do you see as your options? Our fleece comes in all colours, in both suri and huacaya, and in all qualities. I am felting some, making felt scarves. I have a booth in Craft World in Westgate, selling 100% suri cobweb felted scarves in natural colours – but this doesn’t use many fleeces, and only the finer ones. But I’ve discovered that some of the finest suri fleeces don’t felt well, so it’s been a learning curve. There was a black fleece that I was particularly keen to use, from Blackadder, and I was really excited about getting it back from the carders. I made a scarf straight away. It fell to pieces! I made another one, felting it for much longer. I was worried about overfelting it, that it would go stiff like a board. It didn’t. It stayed soft and silky but still looked fragile so I thought I would try wearing it myself to see what happened to it. I wore it to a friend’s place, and she spent the next few days removing layers of fine black fluff from her furniture! But felting is far too slow for mass production and doesn’t solve the problem of how to best use the fleece. It should be spun and woven – difficult when you have mixed colours and mixed micron!

we joined immediately. I was impressed at the amount of information they sent out and the quality of the publications. Interaction with other members? Yes, plenty. Through shows, conferences, local events and cluster groups. Other alpaca breeders have become good friends, we share experiences, alpaca knowledge, and the odd glass of wine! We would always recommend to all new breeders that they join the Association.

What do you wish you had known before you bought your first alpaca? What would you have done differently? We should have done more research, and had an idea of what we wanted to breed. We would have been much closer to our current breeding goals if we had started out knowing where we wanted to go.

What made you join the Alpaca Association? What advice would you give to someone who is considering getting into alpacas? What do you get/hope to get out of being a member? Tell us about your interaction with Go to shows and have a look at the alpacas on show. See what you like, and ask yourself why you like it. What do you other members? want to breed? With this in mind, what females would be best There was never any question of NOT joining it. When I bought the first two females the person selling them (Trish Pedley of Wistow Alpacas) told me about the Association and I was pleased to think that such an organization existed and so

suited to this goal? Which males should you be mating them to, to help achieve this goal? Can you buy a female that suits your goals, pregnant to a male that will be likely to give you the cria you want?

Vet: Monique Koning

Monique Koning is a vet in Canterbury who has a special interest in alpacas. The interest was triggered when she found a Tetralogy of Falot in one of the first post mortems in these creatures. Since that post mortem many more interesting alpaca features have become apparent. Never a dull day, always something new to learn.

If you have questions you would like the vet to answer, please send to editor@alpaca.org.nz - our vet will do her best to answer as many questions as possible.

Q. What is the optimum age for castrating an alpaca? A. Ask 10 different people and one will get 10 different

answers. Some more hotly debated than others. Scientifically there is no known optimal age for castration, despite all the arguments. The optimal age is different for individual people and based upon their preferences and the behaviour of the male alpaca. A male alpaca that is aggressive and difficult to maintain in a herd because of its behaviour would get castrated a lot earlier than its shy and unimposing herd mate. There will be no guarantee that the behaviour will change, as learned behaviour and habit formation can be difficult to change, but it is definitely worth a try. Taking the hormones out of the equation can modulate the behaviour substantially. It is probably better to avoid the learning of aggressive behaviour by castrating earlier! I get often called to do “the deed” because the boys have suddenly started to fight a lot more. The hormone levels have risen and the boys are acting on their testosterone. This can be just as good a time to do them as any other time. The down side of waiting until the alpacas start to fight is that they may need some sedation to get the castration done. The boys have become more powerful, or they simply have grown bigger and have learned that they can get away with things... In general one doesn’t want to castrate too early. Not before the closing of the growth plates in the leg bones. Castration before closure of the growth plates can cause the legs to become longer, potentially leading to more problems later in life. The longer leg bones have a longer lever on the joints, which means that imperfect conformation can lead to higher forces on the joints with problems flowing out of that. However it must be said that in alpacas this isn’t as much a problem as it could be in heavier animals. In animals that are expected to be small, one could try to prevent early (normal) closure of the growth plates by castrating them very early and so aim for a slightly taller alpaca. Closure of most of the growth plates of the leg bones takes place before the third month of life approximately. Early castration, before the age of 3 months, can also lead to less developed prepuces – with smaller openings. This can potentially lead to problems with stones and pizzle rot later in life. We haven’t seen many of these problems, which can just be a reflection of castrating later in life. 60

Another reason to castrate an alpaca may be to prevent the females to become pregnant. In general a male isn’t able to fertilise a female up until 1.5 years of age because, on average, that’s the time the prepuce becomes unstuck from the penis and the male will be able to extend his penis. Pay attention to the words “in general” and “on average”! The odd male has been found fertile at age 6 months...

Q. Dog Attacks? A. Forensic science to the aid of alpaca owners who

have animals attacked by dogs. There were 475,072 dogs registered on the National Dog Database in January 2010. The top five areas with the most dogs were: • • • • •

Christchurch City – 25,497 dogs Auckland City – 19,822 dogs Manakau City – 18,161 dogs Dunedin City – 14,374 dogs North Shore City – 14,028 dogs

Annually a lot of sheep, goats, cattle, horses, alpacas, and other livestock suffer injury and trauma from wandering domestic dogs. Dog attacks are the nightmare of every animal owner. It is a sorry sight to have one’s animals being scared and forever scarred, mauled, amputated, disfigured, or killed by dogs. One is not always in the position to make a clear identification which animal(s) did it, although suspicions are usually rife. In many cases there is ample canine DNA evidence surrounding the injured livestocks’ wounds. There is a new service now available in New Zealand that provides for canine forensic DNA testing. Types of canine DNA evidence found at the dog attack scene can include: • Dog saliva found on the skin or wound of a dog bite victim • Dog saliva found on a victim’s clothing • Dog Blood (e.g. if injured) • Dog hairs • Dog faeces • Dog saliva on fence palings or other objects Forensic DNA testing can help to make a positive ID of the attacking dog(s) and ensure that follow up of the incident takes place. This can help recover cost and hopefully prevent further attacks. Talk to your local vet and “catch” the real culprit(s) by timely and accurate sampling.

20th - 24th September Hamilton, New Zealand www.alpaca2013.co.nz

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If that brought a wry smile to your face then you’ll know that whilst nothing beats country life, country life can sometimes feel like it’s beating you. From livestock liability to fire risks, each day brings a new challenge. And it takes a rural specialist to know how to deal with them – right from your home to the front gate. Ask around about us, or for some advice call 0800 366 466.

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