The last day of January is here already. Summer can't be far away now as the local irrigation company have sent their bills out for the coming year, for the privilege of irrigating about 20 acres of the 25 which we own, we pay just over $1000 per year.

We only have two crops if you can call them that. We have the pasture grass which the alpacas munch on while roaming about and we have the hay grass from which we make hay for winter.

One thing I have learnt from alpaca farming is that if you go into a pasture at any time and look at the combination of weeds, grasses and legumes growing, then that combination will pretty much be the ideal combination for this temperature band and soil type.

Anything you plant will flourish then eventually decline back to where it was in the first place.

Unless you also adjust one or more of the following:

The amount of irrigation water used.
The nutrients available in the soil.
The number of weeds.

So think very carefully before spraying herbicides, applying fertilizers or just the amount of water you put out in the summer.

The plants growing in your alpaca pastures are a very carefully balanced mix and destroying one will almost always cause another to flourish in its place. Now usually we expect this to be the grass seeds which we just planted but the truth is that we can never be truly certain.

If you think about it its obvious really.

Adrian Stewart

Despite the great weather with clear skies and sunshine a local woman who went skiing with her family died on mount Ashland yesterday. Somehow she became separated from her family, got lost in the woods and died overnight.... everyone is in shock at this awful news.

I recall an article I read on the plane flying back on Sunday which had a quotation from Colin Powell. "Persistent optimism is a force multiplier" and I do my best to remain optimistic.

The elections for the AOBA board are now underway together with the formation of a group to start looking at the long term planning of our industry.

I am hoping to be selected for the long term planning group as I am certain this is something I can make a real contribution towards over the coming months.

Someone calls to talk with about buying two alpaca fibre boys and another calls to talk about buying our alpaca weather vane so business keeps on rolling.

Adrian Stewart

Its great to be back after my trip.
The first part of the morning I spend with the alpacas and Macario catching up on any news or developments on the farm.

All the alpacas are in great shape and my Australian shepherd dog Gifford is delighted to have me home and be out and about on the farm.

I can't believe January is almost over and February is knocking on the door...

The grass is still dormant but we have masses of hay in the barn so all is well on the feed front.

Once the farm is settled down I take time to write up an account of the congress meeting for my members. I go on their behalf and at the associations expense so I figure the least they deserve is a prompt account of what happened.

Although it was still cold last night the sun is now getting high in the sky during the day and everywhere is starting to come alive.

I call our shearer Allan Godsiff and agree a shearing date of Sunday April 29th its never too soon to start planning and organising volunteers to come help with shearing.

Adrian Stewart

Today I am heading back to Oregon and a large helping of reality...if you know what I mean

Two days in alpaca meetings is a day too many for most people.

Before I head back I am going to find the statue of Alvin C. York the greatest American War Hero of World War I.



You can read about this amazing character on the web by clicking here.

Not just his amazing war exploits but the incredible legacy he left behind.

Adrian G Stewart

Sorry but I am still away from the farm in Nashville at the AOBA affiliates congress.

Yesterday was a great day to shoot some pictures before the congress got underway.



Adrian Stewart

Sorry but I am away from the farm today attending the AOBA affiliates congress in Nashville.



I had a couple of spare hours so I went to the Country Music Museum and Hall of Fame in downtown Nashville.
I am not a great fan of country music but Rosie Maddox and her brothers would be my neighbours if they were alive today. So I was keen to see what the museum had on Rosie.



Maddox hit it big after World War II when she toured with her four brothers as The Maddox Brothers and Rose. They were billed as "The Most Colorful Hillbilly Band in America."

Click here to read more about Rose and her brothers.

Adrian Stewart

Due to the scarcity of flights out of my local airport I will be heading off to Nashville at noon today.

I am going to the second national affiliate congress meeting. This is basically all the presidents of all the AOBA affiliates getting together and then meeting with the AOBA board.

Our aim is to drive the industry forward by working together...its not always a marriage made in heaven and this meeting will be the crunch meeting as far as I am concerned. Unless I see real progress and action then I have better things to do with my time. There will be about 26 of the 30 something affiliate presidents there. So much fewer than the first time but this meeting was called at pretty short notice.

I will be back on the blog by Sunday.

Adrian Stewart

The latest edition of Hobby Farm Home includes an article from Jo about foods you can cook from the hedgerows. No not hedgehogs......or alpacas.



The magazine is quite an interesting read and if you have $4.99 to spare its worth buying a copy.

Hobby Farm Home is the sister publication to Hobby Farm magazine.

Today the weather is glorious its 60 degrees F and the sun is shining, not a cloud in the sky. Ashland may not be heaven but I bet we share the same zip code.

The alpacas are enjoying the sunshine and nibbling away at the grass then doing some loafing and sunbathing while they chew on their cud...

I however have a newsletter to write so I am chained to the computer until it is completed.......all of which Gifford (the Australian Shepherd) finds dreadfully boring...

I should point out that Jo does manage to mention Mulberry Alpacas in her article and even gets the Mulberry URL in there on the last page...what a super star.

Adrian Stewart

The alpaca loafing sheds have been a real blessing and not only keep the alpacas cosy but also keep the feed dry and prevent a good deal of wastage.

The bees however have not been so cosy and we have lost three of our four colonies. Partly because they wee heat stressed when we bought them and partly because it has been very cold this winter.

I painted the hives last December as a Christmas present to Jo and it was obviously too cold and the paint has all come peeling off last year. So Mac is busy stripping them down and then once the weather picks up we will paint them again.



Adrian Stewart

Randy and Barbara Coleman run an alpaca farm and alpaca transport business on the west coast calleed Wings and A Prayer Alpacas. Their son Michael is currently serving in Baghdad and at night the temperature falls to about 20 degrees and all the soldiers suffer from cold feet when they are out on patrol.

So Michael asked his parents if they could supply some alpaca socks for the troops to keep their feet warm..well word has spread at great pace and at the last count about 400 pairs had been donated by alpaca ranches just in our area alone.

This could be turning into something very big very quickly....I can see it becoming a nation wide alpaca initiative...

Adrian Stewart

The beautiful clear skies and sunshine that we have been enjoying do mean that the temperature plummets at night and everything gets a coating of frost.

The alpacas don't care one bit about sub zero temperatures.



In fact as I brought all the males in to give them an 8 way injection they were much more interested in rearing up and challenging the tree...don't ask me why, because I have no idea.

Adrian Stewart

Today is the first meeting in the New Year for our local alpaca association SOJAA.

We are a group of about 50 farms in Oregon and California all committed to making a viable long term business out of alpaca ranching and supporting each other along the way.

The first meeting of the year is always a social event and sees the appointment of the new board.

It really does signal the end of the winter in so many ways and its great to see everyone and start planning events for the New Year. We have our annual alpaca show in October and this year we will be having a fibre event in the spring. Plus a series of regular bi-monthly meetings.

If you aren't already a member of an AOBA affiliate I suggest you join one. Even if you don't have alpacas it costs about $ 100 a year and you will get to learn so much before eventually taking the plunge ...so to speak.

Adrian Stewart

After the long cloudy spell it was great to see the sun come up on a clear sky.



Once the chores were out of the way and all the alpacas on their pasture i headed up the mountain with a couple of friends and did some skiing....my first of the season and very enjoyable it was.

We only have a small mountain near where we live so its pretty gentle on the thighs.

Adrian Stewart

The farm has become so busy over the last few months that somehow the time spent with the alpacas has become less and less. I have now started a new regime of checking each alpaca once a week and handling the younger ones.
We only have about 25 alpacas right now so it is achievable and I do the girls and cria on Thursday and the boys on Fridays.

Today we had the girls in and gave them their 8-way immunization shots. This was Macs first real hands on session other than doing body scores and weights.

He was baptised in the traditional way and one of our older girls (an original import from Peru) spat in his face while he held her cria....poor Mac. Of course I couldn't stop laughing and he couldn't talk because some of her spit had actually gone in his mouth. I wish I had a picture !

Rule #1 If she looks like she might spit assume she will and turn away, under no circumstances open your mouth!

Tomorrow its the boys who are much calmer......

Adrian Stewart

The freezing weather was quickly followed by a small snow storm that left everywhere looking picture perfect. The schools were closed and this made the children very happy indeed.

The alpacas of course pay no attention to snow and despite having cosy straw filled barns to sleep in, always opt for the great outdoors. If pushed I would have to guess that it has something to do with being happier in an open space that offers some sense of escape, but that's just a theory on my part.

Today was taken up with the usual round of poop scooping and making sure that everyone had water, as I have said before if the heated water trough salesman arrived today he would be able to sign me up very easily. I have been working on a heated water trough of my own. I looked at solar power but am now experimenting with a small wind turbine (off a boat), a car battery and one of those small heating elements that let you make a hot drink while in the car...it looks quite promising.



Adrian Stewart