Ideal Alpaca Library

The Ideal Alpaca Library is one of the most complete resources you'll find on the internet. We hope you enjoy this collection.

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A National Alpaca Improvement Program

History gives us many lessons about how to create a superior herd of almost any breed of livestock.  The science of genetics is highly refined and entirely accessible by anyone who wants to breed anything for almost any purpose.  The question becomes how we proceed toward that goal of superiority in the alpaca industry.

There has been a worldwide textile industry for more than eight centuries.  While people have always made their own textiles, industrial developments have radically changed the way textiles are produced and marketed, developments such as the invention of machine spinning, the worsted spinning process, knitting and weaving machines, the rise of the cotton gin, the steady evolution of fabric finishing techniques, and the development of man-made fiber.  Add to this a constantly changing fashion industry based on affluent consumer preferences, and you have a textile market that can best be characterized as a moving target. This combination of conditions has created challenges for livestock breeders whose product is fiber. But it has also created opportunities for breeders to create animals whose fleece meets a specific need.

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