EDMONTON — There’s something in the air tonight for Genesis.
That’s TnC Genesis Next Generation, a 21-month old alpaca, named after the 70s musical group.
Genesis won Supreme Champion male at the Alpaca Odyssey Show at Farmfair International in Edmonton Nov. 4. A fleece from Genesis won Supreme Champion in an International Fleece competition at the same show.
“He’s a very elite alpaca,” said owner Trudy McCall, of Lloydminster, Sask.
Farmfair runs in Edmonton from Nov. 4-12.
It’s the third time since June Genesis’ bag of fleece has won Supreme champion at competitions in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta.
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Travelling to halter shows and fleece competitions is just one of the ways McCall and her business partner Cathy Merkley market the alpaca products from the 70 head of alpaca on their farm.
“It’s a good marketing tool.”
They also sell a range of alpaca products from their store, The Alpaca Loft, where they also offer classes on spinning, weaving, felting and dying. McCall said when they first started they sold a lot of finished products from their store, but with a resurgence of interest in fibre arts, customers buy a lot of fibre they can spin or knit themselves.
“A lot of young people are getting into crocheting and knitting. It’s becoming very popular with older teenagers,” she said.
The interest in fibre crafts in the middle of oil country is also a nice surprise, she said.
The alpaca industry was hit hard by the BSE scare of 2003. The borders to the lucrative U.S. market closed and the interest in alpacas waned. McCall said interest is increasing again, especially with acreage owners who want small animals.
Karen Jarvis, of KJ Alpacas, one of the show organizers said while the numbers of alpacas at the show is down from last year; the quality of animals has increased in recent years.
“Our quality is better than we’ve ever had, but we need more people in the industry,” said Jarvis, of Innisfail.
Without more breeders there won’t be a viable fleece industry that will encourage more people to buy alpacas.
“Our animals tend to be owned by older, retired people who like them. It’s an easy livestock to handle,” said Jarvis.
In Alberta there are about 300 alpaca breeders.
Lauraine Bijou owns Alpaca Rose Alpacas and has been coming to the shows at Northlands since they began. For Bijou, the alpaca shows are an important part of their farms marketing.
“It definitely helps promote the industry,” said Bijou, of Morinville, who travels across western Canada to alpaca shows to promote her animals and on-farm business.
Bijou sells socks, yarn, duvets and fleeces from their farm store. Like others, Bijou says there is a growing interest in alpacas, especially from small acreage owners.
“We’ve always just loved the alpacas. They the nicest animals to work with and they easy keepers and you get a beautiful fleece and they’re a joy to be around.”
