Moon Dancing
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The Alpaca Bubble - Another Perspective - 2007/01/31 06:49
The Alpaca Bubble - Another Perspective
Irene Fuller
Moon Dancing Alpacas
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http://aic.ucdavis.edu/research1/alpaca_RAE.pdf
Alpaca Lies?
Do Alpacas Represent the Latest Speculative Bubble in Agriculture?
By Tina L. Saitone and Richard J. Sexton
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Well let’s set the tone to condemn an industry by starting an authoritive paper that has University backing with the word “lies”. How professional is that? Stating that alpacas sell for many times more in the U.S., then they do in Peru is irrelevant. Everything imported into the United States sells for many times more then it does in it‘s country of origin. Saitone and Sexton cast doubt about the differences between the South American alpaca and U. S. alpaca, yet they never mention the increase in production and improved fiber fineness that has come from the North American alpaca farms husbandry and nutritional programs. Only what their eye can see while looking for faults to protect some yet to be named unsuspecting buyer.
I do not know where Boer Goats fit into their bubble scenario. In my neighborhood Boer goats are a thriving business and a sought after meat animal. Goat meat is consumed world wide more then beef or pork.
Saitone and Sexton missed the mark in their research or they would have known that Ilovealpacas.com is not an ad placed by the Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association but is a group of farms that have pooled their advertising dollar to promote their own farm on that website. Having raised alpacas for 10 years this writer can attest to the truth in the wording of Exhibit I. Pg. 2, even though I do not participate in that advertising cooperative. This advertising is truthful.
A large percentage of new alpaca owners are from the Yuppie generation. We are in our 50 and 60+ years and have the money to make life changes. No one would ever question or warn new buyers about a new designer car devaluing the minute they drove it off the lot. This happens everyday with cars instantly, yet the alpaca has the potential to devalue with numbers, in time. It is not an instant guaranteed event. Devaluing with numbers is a given and every alpaca breeder that I know has had this information since day one. Every alpaca breeder I know is pitching in to create a viable market for our fleece via the Alpaca Fiber Co-op of North America, AFCNA,. hand crafting value added items or selling our raw fleece. I knew from day one that I had to find my own market for my fleece until we had enough alpacas to sustain a textile industry. We have over 100,000 registered alpacas and many unregistered, non breeding, fiber quality alpacas to build this industry on. Not the 62,000 reported. At this time we can sustain a niche, that does not make the industry a bubble. All business and industries have to start building somewhere until they grow to maturity.
The authors of the U.C.Davis article reference the speculative value of alpaca breeding stock. I just attended the Red Bluff Bull and Gelding sale. A stock dog sold for $23,000. A gelded working horse that will never breed sold for $29,000. Bulls sold for $9,000. There are millions of cattle in the U.S.. Is this speculation on the Cattleman’s part or good business sense to purchase prime breeding stock? What sets the alpaca up for judgment when the same event occurs at auction for most species?
Saitone and Sextons statistics may have held some truth using out dated figures in last years report but I believe their report has been devalued by time and the increased number of alpacas. We are here to stay and so is the alpaca. It‘s a fact that alpaca fleece is phenomenal.
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