US Alpaca Ranchers and Farmers are the heartbeat of the alpaca industry.  These ranchers/farmers are focused on producing the highest quality alpaca fiber available in the market place.

As with any farming activity, alpaca ranchers/farmers struggle to maintain a sustainable environment based on the price of their commodity alpaca fiber, so it is critical to produce the highest quality fiber possible.  Alpaca ranchers/farmers also have very limited data available to them to help them know the type of fiber that has the greatest demand at a particular point in time.

To help the alpaca rancher/farmer, the US Alpaca Fiber Council has produced informational brochures to help identify farm related activities that can help maximize the revenue that quality fiber can produce for them.

LINKS OF INTEREST

Links are provided for your convenience.  This does not constitute endorsement of any process, procedure, entity or organization accessed through these links.

Pasture Management Brochure     Access Here

Sorting, Grading, Classing Brochure    Access Here

 

NATIONAL MILL INVENTORY

Transforming raw fiber into value added products is a critical success factor for any natural fiber industry.  The National Mill Inventory is a project by Fibershed, a non-profit organization working to develop regional and regenerative fiber systems on behalf of independent working producers. This effort began with the goal of illuminating fiber milling capabilities across the United States. Reaching out to mill owners and operators at all scales, they sought to understand what services are offered, what supply chains are possible, and what components need fortification to support a thriving domestic and decentralized textile industry.  As the alpaca industry continues its development of textiles and supporting supply chain systems, we know that our milling partners are key, and understanding their offerings will allow us to support these endeavors. This interactive website provides great insights into value add processors that can be connected together to create supply chains focused on your product development needs.

http://nationalmillinventory.com/explore-mills/ 

USDA Yearly Report – Sheep and Goats – Fiber production

This yearly report is released in late January by the United States Department of Agriculture Economics, Statistics and Market Information System.

This report contains the number of sheep and lambs by class, lamb crop, sheep shorn, wool production, and wool price and value. Sheep and lamb death loss and farm slaughter are included. Also included is the number of angora, milk and meat goats, goats clipped, mohair production, and mohair price. Statistics by state, region or U.S.

Publication Coverage: Jan 29, 1973 to Jan 31, 2017

The ultimate goal is to include alpaca wool production into the USDA reporting system, including pricing by grade.

This report can be found by following this link:

https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/

Studies & Research Links     Click Here