AlpacaGram 7.82 | Season’s Greetings and Happy New Year from AOA!

Season’s greetings and Happy New Year from AOA!

At the risk of sounding cliché — what a topsy turvy year it has been.

Yocom-McColl closed, the national show in March was closed to the public, and the Natural Fiber Extravaganza was cancelled, nothing has been business as usual.

However, despite the challenges we’ve faced, there has been growth in the industry as first-time alpaca owners become members and AOA continues to move forward with its goals. Below are just a few of the accomplishments your national organization has made on your behalf:

• Adopted the Huacaya and Suri Breed Standards.
• Completed the testing of antibacterial and thermal properties of alpaca fiber.
• The AOA public website was redesigned and released.
• Successfully moved the 2021 National Alpaca Show from Denver to Grand Island without penalty.
• Affiliates were and continue to be presented with an open forum for discussing import topics and providing feedback during bimonthly calls.
• Offered how-to posts on Facebook regarding using the new website and accessing educational materials.
• Debuted the Innovative Fleece Assessment during the AOA National Fleece Show, a new type of fleece show that focuses on the genetic potential and processing end-use for each entry.
• Developed Co-efficient of Inbreeding searches for the website, available in February 2021.
• Dr. Mark Enns produced three short educational videos on Expected Progeny Differences (EPD). They are available on the website.
• Produced a virtual annual meeting.
• Offered an AOA Official Statement in response to PETA’s video on inhumane shearing.
• Five recommendations from the Show Revitalization Task Force are being piloted for review by the Show Rules Committee (SRC) at the end of the 2021 show season.
• Naming of a Point System Task Force to research and recommend whether a point system should be offered by AOA and if so, what that would look like.
• And more…

We look forward to continuing to help you navigate your membership benefits and staying responsive to what you need to make your alpaca business a success.