Great news all the irrigation changes and pipe work we did in the winter appears to be working just fine and no leaks!

The relocated risers are making it much easier to relocate the irrigation wheel and water the alpaca paddocks on a regular basis.



The water canon shoots water about 90 feet. So it covers an area about 180 feet in diameter which is the width of our alpaca paddocks...yep that was one thing we manage to design for efficiency



The speed at which the canon is reeled in by the water wheel can be varied. The slower you wind it in the more water you put down. With our soil type and the fact we have just put down grass seed then a little and often is the way to go.
To get an accurate take on what we put down I set up a rain gauge in the path of the spray. I aim to put about 1 1/2" inches down in each pass.



I then keep a record of which alpaca paddock was watered and when and how much water went down.

Adrian Stewart

Some friends took us to the cinema to see this very funny and moving documentary about a third generation farmer in the mid west.

If you get the chance go see this great documentary don't hesitate.
The web site for the movie is at :

www.therealdirt.net


Farmer John is now older and wiser and runs an organic farm the web site is:

www.angelicorganics.com




The Real Dirt on Farmer John is a personal documentary about John Peterson, a farmer, artist, and revolutionary innovative thinker cast in rural Illinois. Filmmaker Taggart Siegel has documented John's struggle to redefine his family farm for over twenty years, witnessing the colorful drama of John's life. Photographs and home movies spanning 70 years juxtapose with dynamic recent footage.

With the death of his father during the late 60s, John turns his traditional family farm into an experiment of art and agriculture, making it a haven for hippies, radicals and artists. The Real Dirt on Farmer John charts the end of this idealistic era as the farm debt crisis of the 80s brings about the tragic collapse of the farm.

As the intricate weave of rural America unravels, vicious local rumors turn John into a scapegoat, condemning him as a Satan-worshipping drug-dealer.

Threatened with murder, his home burned to the ground, John forsakes his farm and wanders the ancient lands of Central America. Mysteriously, his quest leads him back to his hostile homeland. Defying all odds, he gradually transforms his land into a revolutionary farming community.

At the film's close, the Peterson family farm is one of the largest Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms in the United States. Out of the ruins of single-crop agriculture, John creates Angelic Organics, an extended farm village where people and art can thrive alongside agriculture.


Adrian Stewart

The irrigation canal was filled today and we have started to draw water off for our irrigation pond and the high pressure irrigation system.





The next job is to connect up the various filters and pumps then check out the new pipes we laid in the winter ! Lets hope they were all good joints and there are no leaks.

The sooner we can get water running the sooner we can start to get the new grass seed germinated.

Adrian Stewart

Today we took Santo back to the vet to check his feet which are recovering but only slowly. And we took our female who's cria died to check her out.

Dr Timpson scraped Santos feet and checked for mites but couldn't find any so assume that they are healing. However we will continue with the local application of Atroban on all four legs and his centre line. Plus we gave him a shot of Ivomectin. The Atroban we will do after he has been shorn next weekend.

Our female alpaca checked out normally and an inspection of the cervix by Dr Timpson looked fine but we took a swab to be safe and a blood sample just to check everything is as it should be. While we were there we did an ultrasound just to make sure she was?empty" and that everything else looked normal.

So the good news is that she is fine and we are just waiting for the swab and blood panel results to confirm what we saw in the examination.





Adrian Stewart

The entries for our internet based competition are literally flooding in.

Here is a copy of the mailshot....please feel free to enter

Whenever we find a prize worth sharing, we like to hold a competition and give away something of value. We have learnt so very, very much through the magic of Marty McGee Bennett that we want to spread the word, and we are giving away two copies of her DVD "Alpaca Training and Handling". To be considered for this gift, please just reply to this email with the answer to the simple question below:

On our website at MulberryAlpacas.com we are selling a white maiden huacaya girl whose picture exactly matches that shown on this email. What is her name?





An email reply with the correct answer will put your name into our "winner's hat" and we will draw the names of the two lucky people on the 1st May. Good Luck!

..... it's cria season - may you all have the most beautiful of babies.

Not only have we had a great response in terms of volume but we have had many e-mails saying that it was fun idea and that people liked the web site. Which is great feedback. Many of the entrants ask questions so tomorrow evening I will be busy replying to all those who wrote in.

In the evening we went to see and interesting movie called "The Real Dirt on Farmer John" its a bit odd ball but the conclusion is worth watching for. Farmer John now operates a Community rganic farm and his web site is www.angelicorganics.com

Adrian Stewart

Today was spent doing the remainder of the overseeding that I started yesterday.
The continous noise of the tractor running at high revs to drive the seeder and noise of the seeder is exhausting by the end of the day.

Now we need to get some rain/irrigation on the seed to start the germination process.

Adrian Stewart

So today was the big day the sun was shining I had 500lbs of Amba grass seed in the barn all the way from Denmark. (Amba is a variety of Orchard Grass that alpacas love).
The over-seeding machine arrived from the hire company.....but wouldn't attach to my tractor!
So I had to hire a bigger tractor..which has messed up the whole economics of the operation but as we say in farming "the sow must go on!"







I planted about 300 lbs of seed today at the rate of about 30lbs an acre. This machine does not like rocks even small stones and the existing grass needs to be cut short.

Adrian Stewart

One of the ways we use to drive traffic to our web site is to hold competitions.
Essentially we send an e-mail to the list of marketing leads which AOBA generates, the e-mail asks a question which can only be answered by visiting our website.

Today we sent out our e-mail shot and within an hour 50 people had been to the site and submitted entries.

The prize for the lucky winner is a copy of a Marty McGee Bennett DVD on how to train alpacas.

Its simple but very effective and if you are reading this Blog entry because you came to the web site to enter our competition...welcome and good luck!

Adrian Stewart

Apart from feeding the alpacas and poop scooping we spent the day in the garden. We went out to a local nursery in the afternoon that had an amazing collection of hanging baskets which I couldn't resist photographing. The picture doesn't really do them justice.






Adrian Stewart

The Atroban treatment on Santos feet doesn't appear to be tackling the mite problem. So I have arranged to take him to the vet clinic on Thursday next week and have a more thorough examination.



Adrian Stewart

Today I delivered a collection of medical equipment to the Alpaca Vet School at Corvallis.
The money to purchase the equipment was raised by SOJAA (State of Jefferson Alpaca Association) and the equipment was sourced by alpaca breeder Zoltan Szabbo.

While there Chris Cebra gave us a tour of the new small animal hospital (cats and dogs) funded by the State of Oregon to the amount of $8 million. To my untrained eye it appeared to be every bit as impressive as a human hospital. The small animal hospital boasts an oncology ward, a cardio vascular ward and two state of the art operating theatres. I am certain most third world countries dream of having such a facility for humans let alone cats and dogs.

OSU are now half way to raising the $10 million they need to build an extension to the large animal facility (primarily equine but also camelid) this 26,000 sq ft expansion will include two riding arenas, an isolation unit, a radiology unit and an upgraded ICU.

As you will recall SOJAA have also offered to sponsor member nominated DVMs to attend either the two week lama surgery course later this year or the 4 day DVM Camelid Conference in March 2007 at OSU. The Camelid Conference next spring will probably have an owner/breeder session tagged on the end.

Chris Cebra a professor and head of department was really pleased to get the new equipment which will help with the care of premature alpaca crias that are referred to the vet school.



Adrian Stewart

The sun is shining but its been a dark day. This morning I found the lifeless body of a newborn cria in the grass. The birth was due any day but somehow we missed it and failed to spot the mother had given birth last night.

Why he was still born is a mystery and now we will never know.

Our focus is on checking the dam and making sure she is okay and then getting ready to rebreed her.

All part of being involved with livestock and breeding living animals.

Adrian Stewart

The sun is shining and I spent the morning with Mac spring cleaning the paddocks around the barn.

We filled holes where we had pulled rocks, so that we don't end up with alpacas that have broken legs! We racked leaves and twigs even stones and pieces of glass! Where does all this rubbish come from?

Then we put down grass seed on to the bare patches and overseeded the remainder.

We used the weedwacker to trim along the fence lines and once the alpacas are out of those paddocks we will spray the fence line with RoundUp at a concentration of about .05% which is enough to kill grass and star thistles at the fence line.

The paddocks look much better but now needs watering or the seed won't germinate....






Adrian Stewart

Talking about marketing made me realise that just as we have a "rule" on the farm that we can accept a farm visit at 15 minutes notice. In other words we try very hard to keep the farm clean, tidy and safe at all times. Then if someone calls asking to see the alpacas we don't have to rush around like the place is on fire for two hours before we can let them in.

By the same token whenever I am out and about I always carry a small selection of useful alpaca items with me.

So just like most alpaca farmers have a box containing all they will need to help a new born cria. In my briefcase I always carry enough to talk about alpacas should I get the opportunity.

My alpaca sales kit:

Samples of raw fibre and a ball of 100% baby alpaca knitting yarn.

Pocket sized pictures of alpacas.

Business cards.

and finally alpaca finger puppets to entertain the troops while I talk to mum and dad.



I have ordered some alpaca socks and will be adding a pair to my mobile collection once they arrive. The more I talk to people the more I realise just how important it is to talk about the end product. If you really want to create a lasting positive impression.


Adrian Stewart

Sorry too busy hunting eggs and calling relatives.
Back tomorrow.



Adrian Stewart