Taking a deeper look.

So this is really what it has come down to? As mid-life crisis acquisitions go, I suppose that the purchase of our own OFDA 2000 fiber testing machine is a constructive one at least. It’s certainly safer, better for the environment, and costs a lot less than the 911 that yours truly had been daydreaming about for the better part of a decade (911 Turbo S to be specific, in dark blue or forest green, with dark leather seats and carbon fiber/alcantara interior, 0-60 MPH in 2.9, etc…not that I had spent any time thinking about it).

The obvious plan is take our herd-data analytics up a notch or ten using the OFDA to develop an in-house herd evaluation program. As someone who has, to put it rather charitably, looked askance at the currently offered national EPD program as not much more than a glorified marketing tool, one can certainly view this as putting our money where our mouth is.

It of course is not lost on us that this is still just one more tool we will have at our disposal as we work to advance our breeding program in the years ahead, but by no means some kind of panacea. If making breeding decisions were really as simple as just reading and understanding fiber stats, than North America would be filled with many more great alpacas than it in fact is. Breeding alpacas remains both a science and an art and those of us who aspire to continue the advancement of these wonderful creatures and their fiber, will be far better served if we keep that in mind every single day.

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