Many classes of alpaca fibres contain a certain amount of coarse fibres, which are strong and stiff, and cause discomfort to the end users of the alpaca fibre products. It is therefore desirable to separate the coarse fibres from the fine alpaca fibres. This paper reports trial results on alpaca dehairing using a cashmere dehairing machine. The diameters of alpaca fleece, dehaired alpaca fibres and removed alpaca fibres were analysed, and the fibre lengths before and after dehairing have been compared. The results indicate that it is feasible to dehair alpaca fibres using a cashmere dehairing facility. The dehaired alpaca fibres are cleaner, bulkier and softer, with around 1.5 um reduction in average fibre diameter, but the dehairing process shortens the dehaired fibre length considerably. The dehairing effectiveness of coarse fibre removal using the cashmere dehairing technology has also been discussed in this paper. 

Authors:
Wang, Lijing
Singh, Avtar
Wang, Xungai

Our Region will be celebrating National Alpaca Week 2010 all through the month of May. Take the opportunity to meet alpacas and their owners.

Check out the Open Farm Days:

May 1-2  Alpaca Marengo 3695 Colac-Lavers Hill Rd Ferguson. In the heart of the magical Otways, we offer both suri and huacaya alpacas, lots of information, alpaca yarn and garments. Phone 03 5235 9208.

May 1-2 and May 8-9, 10 am till 4 pm  Coricancha Alpaca Stud 350 Nine Mile Road Napoleons, near Ballarat. Wonderful herd of huacaya, and information on choosing alpacas and avoiding mistakes. Phone 03 5342 0111

May 23 ‘Alpacarama’ and Glenormiston Alpaca Show.  Our high profile event introducing alpacas to the community. There will be a quality alpaca show as well as alpacas for sale as herd guards, breeding stock or just to keep the grass down. In addition visitors will be able to see and buy wonderfu alpaca yarns, garments and hand crafts, and talk to local owners and breeders. Entry is free.  Visit us at the South West College of TAFE, Glenormiston, any time from 9.30am.

AlpacaFest, Premier Alpaca Show, will be held at Werribee Park National Equestrian Centre just outside Melbourne on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 June 2010.

The show is run under the rules of the Australian Alpaca Association.  Judges for the show are, for the alpacas, Ron Reid (WA) and Kate Mander (NZ) and for the fleece competition, Julie Bird (NSW).

The show will feature the full range of age based sections leading to Champion and Reserve Champion awards, and the “Alpacas Coast to Coast International Fleece Show“.  Fleece entries from throughout Australia and elsewhere are welcome.

Section Champions will each win a bag of Laucke alpaca mix courtesy of Laucke Mills.  Supreme Huacaya and Suri will receive a prize of a large Show Fleece Bag and a Driden Oilskin and blanket Cria Coat courtesy of Brumosa Azul.

“Best of colour” classes will be judged and will lead to the award of “Premier” colour ribbons – with each winner (as well as the Supreme Huacaya and Suri) receiving not only the broad ribbon, but also a cheque for $100 courtesy of the Premier Colour sponsors including Andmar Alpacas, Baarooka Alpaca Stud, Blackgate Lodge, Canchones Alpacas, Knitalpaca, Mannagum Alpacas and Wildflower Alpacas.

Premier colour awards will also apply for fleece classes with the winners being awarded a 1/2 page advertisement in one of the next three issues of Alpacas Coast to Coast – a prize valued at $280.

The show schedule and entry form are now available from the Alpacas VicWest website (http://www.alpacasvicwest.com.au). Enquiries should be directed to the Show Convener, Mr Reg Smythe or Region Secretary, Mr Chris Bayley.  Details are on the website.

Alpacas VicWest looks forward to welcoming you to this ”Premier Alpaca Show“

Our Western Vic. Region of AAA is initiating an exciting event on the alpaca calendar which we hope will bring more people in contact with alpacas, their fibre and products, as part of the National Alpaca Week events.

The Glenormiston Alpaca Show and ‘Alpacarama’ will be held on Sunday, May 23rd 2010 at the Glenormiston campus of the South West College of TAFE, situated a short distance from Terang. The College, set in historic rural surrounds, boasts great facilities for a Show in a large covered equestrian facility.

In addition to the animal Show, there will be space for pens of alpacas for sale, and display and sales of alpaca products. Food and catering services will be provided by the College

The event will be promoted throughout our Region to attract both alpaca breeders and owners, potential new owners and those interested in alpaca clothing, yarn and other products.

Show Schedule and entry forms will be posted soon on our web site, and for more information you can contact Co-convenor Lauris Jephcott (info@knitalpaca.com.au) or phone 03 5235 9208.

The working party established between Alpacas VicWest and SW TAFE is working !

The members of the working party met recently at Glenormiston Campus of SW TAFE and discussed programs to be developed and/or offered.

A high pripority is being given to the development of alpaca shearing training – both for existing professional shearers and for new shearers.  It is expected that a training program will be developed and offered so current shearers and shearing teams are familiar with the approach to alpacas – and how it, and the equipment required differs from shearing sheep. 

 The $200,000 damages payout for injuries caused when a couple of alpacas were being shorn by a team who didn’t know or recognise the differences and requirements should ensure that such training is a priority for shearers.

Other programs under consideration include programs directed to improving fleece outcomes.

For further information about the programs being developed please contact either Chris Bayley Alpacas VicWest Secretary, or Rob Graham from South West TAFE

Alpacas Vic West will meet at the Coonadoo Alpaca Stud on Sunday – 7 Feb 2010.  Apart from some general business which will be squeezed in somewhere, the meeting will have several speakers who will, we know, be of great interest to all alpaca breeders:

Belinda Appleton will discuss Suri fleece research being undertaken at the University of Melbourne:

This original project focused on searching for the gene(s) responsible for the suri fleece trait. Researchers have been successful in locating the region of the genome that contains the gene and now are continuing to narrow down to find the exact gene responsible.
They have further interests in fibre and have begun to investigate possibilities for extending that work.
They have also begun work to investigate genes responsible for undesirable traits such as those responsible for choanal atresia, ear defects, wry face, polydactyly etc. and are accumulating a large collection of samples and a PhD student has begun work in this area.

Bruce McGregor from Deakin University will discuss work in the area of fleece blow-out.

Bill Jacobs and Trudy Kuzmich from K&K Stock Feeds will introduce their new line in alpaca  blend.

Kerry Dwyer, member of the AAA Board, will bring us up to date with Board happenings and requirements and plans within the area of animal emergency diease response.

A BBQ lunch will be available at the meeting

The Queensland and SQNNSW regions of the Australian Alpaca Association have joined forces to host “Focus on the Future”, an educational conference.  This will  be held on Saturday & Sunday, 27/28 February 2010, at Riverglenn Conference Centre, at Indooroopilly, in Brisbane.  The purpose of the conference is to provide alpaca breeders with information on the latest in alpaca nutrition, reproduction, soil and pasture development, biosecurity, and other topics from nationally recognised speakers.  It will also provide those attending the opportunity to network with other breeders in more time-friendly surroundings other than a judging event or one-day educational workshop.

A conference dinner is to be held on the Saturday evening, allowing conference attendees to relax and engage with our speakers on an informal basis. 

On-site accommodation is available in single rooms, or there are a number of motel/all-suite accommodation venues nearby at Toowong & Milton.

Download the conference registration form here. 

 This is a good opportunity for alpaca breeders to benefit by taking take a late summer break in the Sunshine State which can be associated with their alpaca business interests.  We look forward to seeing you in late February!

A joint VicWest and South West Institute of TAFE working party has been established to assist in developing alpaca educational and training programs for alpaca breeders and others involved in agricultural pastural and related industries in Western Victoria. The need for the working party came out of discussions at the VicWest regional meeting held at the historic Eeyeuk alpaca stud, located near Terang in Western Victoria.

The working party will look at the need for, and appropriate programs for, issues such as owner classing for alpaca fibre / fleece, novice shearing for owners, speciality alpaca shearing training for interested existing shearers.

Rob Graham, SW TAFE team leader in agriculture, indicated that the Institute had a substanial number of shearers in training and interest had been expressed in adding skills in alpaca shearing – an area of skill development which alpaca breeder members of the region wholeheartedly supported.

The group will also look at relevant components of the speciality fibre programs planned by the institute and being developed by Stuart McPherson, and will review the wide range of programs already part of the “Rural Production Training Package” which incorporates over 100 “units of competency” directed towards a range of sectors including bee-keeping, deer production, emergency animal disease response, nutrient management, mushrooms, olives. and alpacas.

Breeder members of the working party include Sandy Dennis (Eeyeuk), Chris Bayley (Coonardoo), Robbie Cuthill (Blackgate Lodge) and Lauris Jephcott (Marengo).

For further information please contact either Rob Graham at SW TAFE or Chris Bayley, Secretary of the VicWest region of the Australian Alpaca Association.

The next regional meeting for the Victorian Western Region of the Australian Alpaca Association will be held on Sunday 29 November at Eeyeuk Alpaca Stud, 1344 Terang Darlington Rd., Terang.  The “meeting business” will particularly focus on prospective linkages with the South West TAFE College – through their agriculture focussed programs (including matters such as fleece classing), prospects for a major regional show at the Glenormiston facilities and possibilities for links with the fashion programs for use of alpaca yarns.

There will, of course, be a (short) report on the recent AAA Council meeting. Among the important outcomes from that meeting are implications for the Alpaca “Emergency Animal Disease Response” and the soon-to-arrive NLIS.  Alpacas, while no major disease outbreaks have occurred, are not imune from disease and the involvement of the alpaca industry in Australia’s emergency response approach could have major implications for breeders .

All Victorian owners of alpacas – whether breed animals included on the IAR, other breed register or unregistered – must now have a PIC – a Property Identification Code.  All movements of alpacas will shortly require recording in the Alpaca NLIS. What are the implications of the introduction of this system.  What will we have to do when we sell an animal (into a breed herd, as a herd guard, as a pet or for meat).

We’ll also have a discussion on what we can/should do in our region to make National Alpaca Week 2010 (early May 2010) a more effective promotional event.

This meeting will be the final meeting for the year – a BBQ (not alpaca) lunch to celebrate the coming festive season.  Members are invited to bring a guest – who have you sold alpaca to over the past year ?……  bring them along, get them more involved with our industry.  As the region will provide the  and salads, we’d appreciate advice of numbers of attendees.

Genes hold colour markers

Wednesday, 28 October 2009
Curtin University of Technology

Alpacas with white coats produce the most valuable fibre – but it’s difficult to breed them reliably without knowing what genetic marker causes darker pigments. 

Long prized for its fine quality and wide variety of naturally occurring colours and patterns, the genetic mystery behind alpaca fibre is the subject of new Curtin University of Technology research.

Dr Kylie Munyard from the University’s School of Biomedical Sciences is working with her PhD student Ms Natasha Feeley on the project to uncover the genetic causes of colour and pattern variation in alpacas.

“Alpacas come in more than 20 different colours and patterns and so far nothing is known for certain about the molecular mechanisms underlying the causes of these variations,” Dr Munyard said. “In fact, little is also known about how these colours and patterns are inherited and passed on in the alpacas.”

The research hopes to be able to shed light on the genetic mechanisms underlying the inheritance patterns of fibre colour in alpacas.

Currently at a halfway stage, the research has already revealed a potential marker for the absence of dark pigment in alpacas which could have positive benefits for the alpaca industry. “We are still in the process of validating these results but if successful this marker could be used in breeding selection as it appears to predict animals incapable of producing the darker pigment type,” Dr Munyard said.

“At the moment white fibre alpacas are the most valuable, and my discovery would be beneficial for breeders aiming to produce white fibre animals for fibre production. “Alpaca breeding is still a small industry so if we can provide useful information about how to effectively select for colour in the breeding stock there is great potential for the industry to expand.”

This research is funded through a Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation grant. Ms Feeley recently presented the current results at the 18th Association for the Advancement of Animal Breeding and Genetics conference.

Item distributed by Science Alert, 28 October 2009
http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20092810-20099.html