Alpacas in the News for July 3, 2009 [9:16m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Alpaca Industry News–Instead: Upcoming Events:

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

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

Alpacas in Mainstream Media

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

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

June 27
High in the Andes, Peruvians mark Christ’s appearance to shepherd boy
Catholic News Service - DC,USA
“It is no longer a celebration of llama and alpaca herders.” Father Antonio Sanchez-Guardamino, a Jesuit from Spain’s Basque region and pastor in the town …
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“The festival of the Lord of Qoyllur Rit’i, marking Christ’s appearance to a young shepherd boy and coinciding with the full moon nearest to the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, dates to the 1780s, though its roots probably go back further. Like many religious traditions, it has evolved over the centuries, but it is now threatened by tourism, global warming and simple economics.”

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

6-29-09

WABA Socks

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

Good Morning Everyone,

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

Greg Schneider

—————————————–

Sylvan Skies Alpacas

40980 Rodgers Mountain Loop

Scio, Oregon 97374

(503) 551-0069

Things That Make You Go “Hmmm.”

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

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

Farm Shout-Outs

 

 Alpacas in the News for June 26, 2009 [7:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

———- Forwarded message ———-

Camelids, Endophyte Toxicosis, and Ryegrass Staggers

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

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

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

June 16, 2009

AOBA Veterinaria Forum on the AOBA website.

AOBA Veterinarian Forum.doc

David Barboza, Secretary

Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association

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

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

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

Alpacas in Mainstream Media

June 22, 2009

UA students turn hobby into career
Akron Beacon Journal - Akron,OH,USA
Last year, Medina native Katie Simmons had one of the more exotic internships: the Misti International alpaca farm in Arequipa in southeastern Peru. …
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..Henry is among 11 students who are studying knitting, crocheting, cross-stitch, needlepoint and embroidery at UA with an eye to jobs in those industries.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thursday, 25/06/2009

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

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

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

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

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

Things that Make You Go “Hmmmm?”

Hi Alpaca-lovers!

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

Sorry for the confusion!

maren