Alpaca shearing season is upon us! This is an important event for members of the Ideal Alpaca Community who each year send in samples of all their fleeces so that EPDs can be calculated for all the alpacas.

IAC members have made it possible to produce the only Estimated Progeny Differences program that spans the country.

The results of the 2007 EPD analysis will be available within 60 days. It has taken us a bit longer than we anticipated, but we are almost there. Dr. David Notter of Virginia Tech has just about completed the analysis. Also, we will post the EPDs of all the Studmaster males on the IAC website, along with additional articles. In late Summer or early Fall the Ideal Alpaca Community will be presenting live webinars on understanding and using EPDs.

By submitting fleece samples through the IAC you put yourself in the unique position of receiving enhanced histogram reports that include 12 measurements and statistics. More importantly, you are participating in the IAC’s Estimated Progeny Differences Program. This advanced program is a huge step forward in quantifying heritable traits and facilitates scientific selection of breeding partners. Using EPDs makes breeding decisions easier and increases the probability of desirable outcomes. Using EPDs tremendously accelerates genetic improvements in your herd.

In addition, the shear list preparation and fleece sample submission tools on the IAC website greatly simplify the organization and efficiency of your shearing day.

To maximize the benefits of the new IAC tools, it is vitally important that all IAC members enter their alpacas onto the IAC database. Alpacas do not need to be related to a Studmaster male to receive an EPD evaluation.

If you have alpacas and you want to improve the quality and value of your herd through genetic improvement then you need EPDS - it really is that simple.