Fiberguild

I was privileged to have been invited to Kinney Valley Alpacas in Ontario, WI to talk about the alpaca fiber industry here in the US. Just got home late last night (Gawd, all joy has been taken out of flying anymore. Take the train whenever possible!!)

It was a great group of folks in attendance, involved, attentive and with hard hitting questions.

A couple of things really stood out to me.

First, I sense real motivation for the transition of alpacas from a speculative “rare breed” industry into main stream agriculture. This was evident on many levels, not the least of which was open discussion of the development of a consumption and hide market.

Secondly, there were a few members of the Alpaca Fiber Cooperative of North America present. There is (and it is probably cultural, as much as anything) a real lack of “ownership” of the co-op. Folks consistently talked about “the” co-op.

I suggested that a simple change in language could bring a huge change in attitude and performance. Instead of referring to “the” co-op, far better to talk about “our” co-op. It is, after all, our business, totally owned and operated by alpaca fiber producers.

I want to thank the Radloff family for inviting me to speak at their farm event. It was a great time and a wonderful opportunity.