From The Farm Weekly newspaper, Thursday, March 10, 2011, written  by Caitlyn West:

" In an Australian first, a bale of alpaca wool, believed to be the only one ever offered through the Australian auction system, was sold at Fremantle last week for 2800 cents a kilogram greasy.  

The single bale was the result of a two year process for Suncloud Farm owners, Peter and Carolyn Richards, who sold the alpaca fleeces to a Chinese buyer with the assistance of Primaries Central Wheatbelt wool broker Greg Tilbrook.  

Peter and Carolyn's dream of breeding alpacas for the commercial fleece market were finally realised when the auction hammer went down last week, after navigating through a unique process to get the bale onto the show floor ....

The Australian wool Testing Authority (AWTA) tested the bale using the manual core method and produced a guidance report including details such as 19.6 micron average, 97.5 % comfort factor and 91.5 % yield....

The Richards said the sale was a significant move forward for the Australian alpaca industry, as they believed alpaca wool needed to be pushed through the channels other fleece producers used.

"For alpacas to be commercially viable, their fleece has to be presented and showcased through the normal international wool market," Mr. Richards said....

(Peter and Carolyn Richards are members of SRS(R) Alpacas) 

This report was kindly prepared by Susie Clark, Chachani Alpacas, Robertson, New South Wales:

Canberra Royal 2010 was a successful showing of alpacas with approximately 240 Huacayas and 65 Suris present. Also judged were 195 Huacaya fleeces and 22 Suri fleeces.

The judges, Kylie Martin and Peter Kennedy, spent a day and a half on both animals and fleeces and made particular comment on the softness (fineness and lack of medullation), lustre, density, bundling and uniformity of the winning fleeces, not to mention the conformation and size of the animals. They also asked for shearing dates which indicated they were looking at growth rates and length.

SRS® breeders were very well represented amongst the ribbon winners with:

Huacayas

Flowerdale

Champion Junior Female

Illawarra

Reserve Champion Junior Female

Chachani

Champion Intermediate Female

Reserve Champion Intermediate Female

Ngullaminya

Reserve Champion Adult Female

Wyndarra 

Champion Adult Male who was also Supreme Champion Senior Male

Illawarra

Reserve Champion Senior Male

Suris

Baarrooka

First Junior Black Female and 4 blues in the fleeces

Tularosa

Two firsts in Junior Male and the Reserve
Champion Junior Male was sired by a Surilana Male

Huacaya Fleeces

Chachani

Champion 6-12 months

Illawarra

Champion 12-18 months
Champion 18-30 months
Champion 48-60 months and Supreme Fleece

Currumbong

Champion 60 months and over

Jim and Murray Ventris, Breeding Advisor, for Western Australia held a workshop for breeders in Perth in early November. A number of subscribers attended with 4 new subscribers signing up at the workshop. Thanks to Suncloud Alpacas for organizing the event and bringing animals and fleeces. More detail to follow as photos come to hand.

At present animals to be skin tested needed to be 18 months of age or older and be weighed. From now on animals need to be 24 months of age for a skin test to occur. The reasons behind the changes are:

• Animals were being skin tested before 18 months and not weighed which meant that comparisons between animals were less valid as it has been shown that animals can change after 18 months of age while reaching mature sige.
• The fleece test that Jim has developed provides a good indicator of how an animal may skin test. This is especially so for subscribers wishing to use a male for breeding before he has been skin tested.
• To provide a quality control measure so that animals that are skin tested at an age greater than 24 months are not disadvantaged in relation to their usefulness in breeding programs.

Could subscribers please make this change in their "Subscribers Handbook" dated 10/09 as a version control measure. If everyone follows the same procedures it will benefit the SRS® breeding system, ensure its integrity and provide a common basis for comparisons between animals. For animals that are over 18 months the new fleece test provides a cheaper alternative yet gives very useful information.

Julienne Gelber, Michael Anderson, Bob Richardson and Jim have worked hard in developing the protocols and survey to assess the amount of alpaca fibre available, within various classifications, that could be collected for processing. This is a very important step in determining what quantities of fibre are available. As Julienne stated in her letter the process is time consuming but one that we trust will be of great benefit to growers at a time when world fibre prices are depressed. Please take the time to fill in the survey based on the classing data that you have available to you. Completed forms should be sent to Michael Anderson at mikando@bigpond.com.

Latest News

05/04/12 - World Alpaca Conference and Workshops in the UK and Europe 

Jim leaves on the 7th of April to attend and speak at the World Alpaca Conference in Oxford, UK on the 11th of April. The title of his talk is 'Redesigning the Alpaca Genetically. Why it is Necessary?' The following is a summary of Jim's work and an introduction to the theme of his presentation at the WAC in Oxford.

I design, implement and monitor the breeding programs for 40 Merino sheep studs throughout Australia to produce and sell about 11,000 Merino rams annually. These rams are used in over 3,000 Merino flocks and influence the genetic outcomes from approximately 6 million ewes (see www.srsmerino.com). My company provides the same breeding services to alpaca breeders in Australia, New Zealand and Europe (see www.srsalpacas.com).

The breeding system is based on the selection of environmentally fit animals with low primary fibre diameter and high levels of fibre density and length. I developed this breeding system in 1988.  It arose from the seminal scientific research of Dr. Phillip Moore and co-workers, published between 1984 and 1989. These scientists investigated how pre-papilla cells in the foetal skin  regulate wool follicle formation and fibre size. A pathway for breeding advanced fleece-coated animals was defined. Importantly, this work also showed that the genetic regulation of primary wool follicles is different from secondary wool follicles – a discovery that overturned the paradigm of index selection based on clean fleece weight and fibre diameter and called into question the design and conduct of breeding programs of many forms of traditional fleece selection.In alpacas, primary fibres are about 10 microns coarser in diameter than the secondary fibres.  Our task has been to reduce the primary fibre diameter from its current high level of about 35 microns to less than 17 microns.  At the same time, selection for high levels of fibre density and fibre length is delivering high fleece weights of fine alpaca of high quality.

In the 6 years I have been implementing this breeding plan in alpaca herds, primary fibre diameter has been reduced by 6 microns, secondary fibre diameter has fallen by 3 microns, and fibre density and length have increased by 30 % and 25% respectively in the herdsires.Our top alpaca males and females are now measuring over 60 follicles per square millimetre for fibre density and over 0.40 millimetres per day for fibre length. These levels are well above industry averages.Environmental fitness is a key consideration in selection. Newborn survival is improved when birthcoats are long and sire and dam are genetically equipped with high muscle and fat reserves. Selection for high fibre density and length produces cria with long birthcoats. Breeding values for early body growth, muscle and fat are used as selection aids. We place emphasis on breeding open faced animals with long, triple wedge shaped bodies that are designed to sit comfortably in the pastoral landscape of Australia.

Textile processing performance and end product quality are enhanced by selecting for long wools with high crimp amplitude and low crimp frequency.

Following the conference Jim will fly to Belgium to present a workshop on Saturday the 14th of April to over 20 European breeders regarding the SRS® breeding system at the property of Theijs and Hanne, Alpaca Flanders. Theijs and Hanne have been undertaking ET work in Europe and Theijs is a dedicated alpaca vet.

From Belgium Jim flies back to the UK for a workshop on Wednesday the 18th of April at Inca Alpacas in Dorset owed by Tim Hey. Tim is a breeder of black alpacas and a SRS® subscriber. Tim also is going to be the main contact and Breeding Advisor in the UK . Tim has generated a good deal of interest in the UK and following on from Jim's presentation at the WAC should be a full house.

The final workshop is in the beautiful Gardena Valley in northern Italy where Mark Demetz has another workshop planned for Saturday the 21st of April. Mark has spent a number of weeks in Australia and is the Breeding Advisor for Europe. A couple of years ago the first SRS® workshop in Italy was held at Mark's property and was a great success and a wonderful time. It will be a very pleasant end to a hectic trip for Jim as he tries to fit in herd classings and skin tests along the way and be home by the 23rd of April.

23/12/11 - Merry Christmas and a happy 2012 

As the year draws to a close we would like to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and successful 2012. Although there are plenty of challenges ahead the baling weekend indicated that really positive gains are been made in the fleece area.

Thank you to everyone who attended workshops, assisted with displays, helped with baling and who contributed to the success of the year. May this time be a time for family and friends and a time to relax. Have a safe and happy break.

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