Alpaca Owners Association National Education and Fiber Conference, National Fleece Show set for July 12-14
Since the United States first commercially imported alpacas in 1984, alpaca breeders have worked hard to produce offspring with the finest, softest, most lustrous fleece. Until recently, the primary focus of the industry was on breeding to build a national herd of superior fleece producing livestock able to compete in the global market. The time has come to focus on the fleece.
The Alpaca Owners Association (AOA) National Education and Fiber Conference takes place July 12-14 at the Boone County Enrichment Center in Burlington, Ky., just minutes from Cincinnati.
The public is invited to join industry leaders, alpaca owners and fiber enthusiasts from across the globe for a weekend of learning, networking and honing their skills.
Seminars include:
• The ABCs of Fiber Processing
• Generating Farm Revenue
• All Things Processing at the Mill
• Farm Resources and Usage
• EPD – What does it mean?
• Hands-On Handling
• And more.
Hands on workshops (available a la carte) include:
• Felting a beautifully textured bowl using alpaca
• Creating a hand-woven hat
• Core-spun coiling
• Forest mushroom sculpture
• Lightweight Nuno felted scarf with indigo shibori dyeing option
• Beginning drop spindle spinning
• Base-start coiling
• Basic fleece sorting and grading
• Painting a landscape with fiber
• Using natural dyes
• Felting a bowl with indigo dip option
• Randing in the round – a corespun basket
• Total immersion fleece clinic.
Friday from 8:15 – 9:30 a.m., keynote speaker Greg Brann will discuss pasture management including soil health in grass and livestock management systems. His profound understanding of plant communities as indicators of land productivity has established him as a reliable resource for landowners and managers who are passionate about comprehending nature’s capacity to regenerate land.
For more details about the weekend’s schedule and to register to attend, visit https://alpacaconference.regfox.com/2024-nefc.
To learn more about the Alpaca Owners Association, visit www.alpacainfo.com.
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