There has been quite a bit of talk this week on the Alpaca Nation website about the Ideal Alpaca community and what its all about. I did post a couple of replies myself to add to the debate and thought it might be useful to say here exactly where the Studmaster males fit in to our community.

The key to the success of the Ideal Alpaca Community (IAC) is the reference herdsires the IAC calls Studmaster males. The Studmaster males have been initially selected based on their pedigrees, performance, and their progeny. These elite animals are owned by participating IAC members. Each of the males is owned jointly by four farms. This shared ownership allows the males to be tested in several herds over a large number of females. The ongoing evaluation of their progeny will provide the records necessary to establish Estimated Progeny Differences (EPDs).

The Studmaster males form the foundation of the sire reference system. Each will be profiled by a sire summary. Over time, each male's progeny will define his potential. Some will turn out to be better than others. Some will be superior for one trait, but not another. As the EPDs accumulate, the picture will become clear.

Replacement sires from the participating herd will be progeny-tested and the best of these will become new Studmaster males. As these genes are spread across the entire membership, the herd will become more uniform and superior, both in phenotype and in genotype.

Adrian Stewart