As part of the Affiliate Congress I have been asked to head up a group to look into Alpaca EPDs which is really exciting for me as I find the topic fascinating and firmly believe it will be an essential step in turning this industry into a viable livestock business.

So here is my basic plan:


Estimated Progeny Differences (EPDs)
This purpose of this group is: to raise awareness of EPDs within the AOBA Affiliate membership and to pro-actively encourage the discussion and understanding of EPDs.

Raising awareness of EPDs within the alpaca community.
To accomplish their purpose the group will:

Produce a paper on EPDs and their potential within the North American alpaca livestock industry for circulation by the AC to its members and any other interested parties.

Identify expert external resources who can speak at affiliate events. Currently there are about 6 universities producing livestock EPDs in the USA including Colorado State (Brett Kaysen who spoke at the 2008 Fiber to Fashion event).

Identify experts within the Alpaca industry who can talk knowledgeably about EPDs such as Wayne Jarvis, Sara Via and Mike Safley, and who can add value to the work of this group.

Research any work being done with alpaca EPDs outside of the USA and distribute the findings to the AC and other interested parties.

Throughout the year circulate relevant information on EPDs to the AC for distribution to the membership.

Keep the AC Fiber Industry Livestock Model (FILM) group and the ACEC fully informed of our progress and through them the AOBA and ARI boards.

If you have any knowledge or interest in this topic please drop me a line to tell me what you know or simply point me in the right direction.