Growing the North American Alpaca Herd

 

(from �PACA TRACKS, �Issue 3, Summer 2003)

 

��������������� Often I am asked to predict when we will have enough alpacas in North America to provide fleece for a commercial fiber market.� Using mohair production as an example, approximately 2 million pounds of fleece would be required to create a similar sized specialty fiber market.� We can assume weights of between 2 and 5 pounds per alpaca blanket (this is my experience after seven years of raising alpacas).� Average that to 3.5 pounds, and we will need something on the order of 570,000 alpacas to achieve an annual clip of 2 million pounds of prime fleece.

 

��������������� Currently there are over 54,000 North American alpacas registered with ARI, according to the report given at the ARI annual meeting in May, 2003.� Approximately 11,000 new alpacas were registered in 2002, a growth rate of 27%.� While these numbers may be imprecise, they can give us a general sense of the time it will take for the North American herd to reach 570,000 alpacas:� about ten years at current growth rates.

 

��������������� Keep in mind that 2 million pounds represents a minimum for a commercial specialty fiber niche.� Additional herd growth will be necessary in order to produce a variety of products within that niche, and will be an important factor in our ability to control markets.� Consider also that not every alpaca owner is interested in contributing fiber to a commercial pool, and that approximately 16% of the current herd are suris.� Therefore my calculations for herd growth should be reduced by an amount representing suri numbers (since their fleeces must be processed differently) and for huacaya fleeces not contributed to a commercial clip.� This will add some years to the period of time needed to reach commercial fiber levels.

 

��������������� Meanwhile, we will continue to enjoy exceptional values for alpaca breeding stock.� Isn�t it great to be involved in one of the few livestock industries whose members can actually make a living?

 

Contributed by Gail Huckell, Huckland Alpaca Ranch, Mora, NM