3:30pm-4:15pm -- How to Maximize the Value of your Alpaca Fiber
-- Presented By Carrie & Robbie Davis

Are you planning to do something with your fiber after shearing? Friday afternoon gives you the very opportunity to speak with those professionals that can guide you through the steps for optimum results starting with shearing all the way through to choosing the correct processing methods.

Starting at 3:30 Carrie and Robbie Davis will be talking about what you can do to prepare your fiber starting on shearing day. How to prep your alpacas for a smooth shearing will help your prep work for processing, showing, or selling your fleeces. The couple has over 15 years of shearing experience and thousands of shorn alpacas under their clippers.

They will also be speaking on processing your fleeces for optimal return. There are some tricks that you will only get from speaking with them.

Americas Natural Fiberworks has been processing alpaca fleece into yarn, roving, and felt for 10 years right here in Ohio! They have processed over 50,000 pounds of fiber giving them the experience and knowledge to guide your fiber to the correct product. Listen while they explain what to do after shearing to get it to the mill, what to look for when choosing a mill, and what product your fiber would be best for.

-- Presented by Char Johnson, Fleeces-to-go.

Gain insights and tips on how to prepare fleeces for the fleece show to obtain the best positive presentation. Fleece show results are extremely important for marketing alpacas and especially their fleece quality!

-- Presented by AOA Senior Judge - Amanda VandenBosch

New accredited AOA Competition! Learn more about all your fleeces! Send in your whole skirted fleece like a traditional fleece show. Your fleece will have samples from the shoulder, mid side, rump, and lower mid side measured using a FiberLux machine to evaluate the average micron of each sample. These average micron measurements will be inserted into a computer program, which will calculate the overall average micron for the entire fleece based on the samples and will be used to determine the GRADE that your fleece will compete in. Additional samples from the shoulder, mid side, and rump will also be measured both un-stretched and stretched, to identify the variance in length across your fleece, curvature/elasticity for best use and rate growth per day. The Judge will assess all other traits and allocate points for characteristics with emphasis on Uniformity along with Handle, Density, Brightness/Luster, Style to Fleece, and Color Uniformity and overall Fleece Uniformity, Processing usability (lack of tenderness, cotting, excessive, debris) - IFA evaluates all usable fiber from the whole skirted fleece that is presented to the show. At the end of the show scores will be compared to other fleeces within their class to award Ribbons, Championships and Product Prizes. Classes are composed first by grade, followed by color and gender (subject to the number of entries). Each fleece will be returned to owner with clear score card, description sheet, measured samples, grade end product information. It's educational, it's exciting. You will learn so much!

Innovative Fleece Assessment - Innovative, data driven, competitive! Where every fleece makes the grade!