Alpaca Journal

   The Alpaca Chronicles is at the printer and should be ready for holiday delivery. You can order a copy by visiting the alpacas.com website.

    The new book is very different from any of my previous books. The storyline covers the history of the alpaca industry in the United States. There are chapters on imports, closing the registry, and how ARI and AOBA were formed and grew. The personalities, conflicts, and growing pains are all documented―no punches pulled or mysteries unsolved. Read more

Section 179 deduction

nbsp;     In 2003 alpaca tax benefits got a lot better due to the "Jobs and Growth Reconciliation Tax Act." which was enacted into law on May 28, 2003. The new rules added several powerful incentives for people who buy alpacas. The 179 deduction which is the cornerstone of this act has been raised to $108,000 for 2006. If you purchase any amount up to $108,000 before year end you can claim the entire purchase price as a 179 deduction on your 2006 taxes. This benefit expires in December 2009. Read more

Related links:
Alpaca Taxes 2007: Why Not Let Uncle Sam Help?

By Mike Safley

I spend a lot of my time thinking about the alpaca business and believe me there is plenty to think about: genetics, marketing, politics, shows, animal husbandry, and fiber, to name a few. Lately I have been thinking about our long-term future as breeders. In particular, I am concerned about the negative impact on our market of repeated shipments of imported alpacas.  Read the entire Article.

I enjoy the opportunity to write about alpacas, the history of our industry and topics such as genetics and selection. I have recently completed my fourth book, Alpacas in the Americas, about the history of our industry. I make every attempt to thoroughly research the subjects that I write about and to be accurate. Some of what I write is opinion and some articles report on the science of alpaca breeding. I may make an occasional mistake or be of a different opinion than my readers but I intend to continue writing and publishing about the subjects that interest me.

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This is the political season. AOBA and ARI are in the process of conducting their annual elections. I am endorsing the two incumbents for the AOBA Board who are running for re-election: Amy McCroskie and Steve Hull. I believe the current AOBA Board led by Amy has done an outstanding job of leading our industry. We are experiencing record sales, unprecedented alpaca show participation and outstanding membership growth. I especially appreciate the efforts of Amy and Steve to implement a new code of ethics for alpaca judges and to upgrade the training of judges. Amy has worked long and hard to support the new rules against grooming and preparing alpacas for shows. Steve has been active in organizing educational events on subjects such as breed standards. He has also been very good about communicating within the membership. You can read each of their candidate statements by clicking on their names below.

The ARI candidates do not include an incumbent, but we have two fresh faces who, I believe, will be outstanding board members: Ken Madl and Dr. Wayne Jarvis. Ken has the computer skills that will be needed as the registry matures and streamlines its services. Wayne is an expert in animal breeding and genetics who will bring a strong scientific discipline to the board. Both are fiercely independent and will work hard on behalf of our membership. Again, view their candidate statements by clicking on their names below.

Dr. Wayne C. Jarvis - ARI BOD
Kenneth E. Madl - ARI BOD
Steve Hull - AOBA BOD
Amy Wood-McCroskie - AOBA BOD

Clicking on a name will open a PDF file in a new window.  Requires Adobe Reader.

By Mike Safley

 The October 2004 MAPACA Newsletter ran an article that was reprinted from Llama Life II entitled: ‘Registry Creators Condemn ARI Board Action’.  The article relies, in large part, on the point of view of Eric Hoffman and is critical of the role played by the 2003 ARI board, led by Libby Forstner, in canceling the ILR contract. Eric Hoffman’s persistent criticism of the leaders and direction of the American alpaca community is nothing new.  Earlier this year he penned an article for the British magazine, Alpaca World, which is entitled, ‘Ship of Fools’, where he was critical of the ARI membership decision to close the Registry.

For an in-depth look at Hoffman’s claims about Registry closure and his misgivings about our industry’s leaders you can read my article, ‘The American Alpaca Market: A Ship of Fools?  I Don’t Think So!’ at www.Alpaca-Journal.com.

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By Mike Safley

There is an amazing fairy tale floating about: a whodunit really.  The question is who has been managing the ARI database since 1998?  I was surprised to open the Winter 2004-05, issue of Llama Life II and find out that the ILR Registrar, Jan Wassink, was claiming that maintaining the database was never in the ILR’s job description.  After doing a bit of checking, I found that the ARI Board of Directors was equally amazed, particularly in light of the fact that the ARI has written over $1,600,000 worth of checks to the ILR since 1998. 

The issue of who was responsible for maintaining the integrity of the database is critical for several reasons: 1) The database that the ARI received upon terminating the ILR was a mess, 2) The state of the database adversely impacted the ARI’s ability to provide registration services to their members, and 3) The ARI’s credibility was impacted by the fallout from their termination of the ILR.  The mystery then is who was supposed to be managing the ARI database all those years.  I’ll present the evidence, each side’s argument and then leave it for you to solve the mystery.

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By Mike Safley

The Alpaca Registry that we know in 2004, which has tens of thousands of alpacas, thousands of owners, a corporate structure with a board of directors, newsletter, DNA testing and other high tech trappings was an impossible dream back in 1986.  Today’s Registry was put together, by a hard working group of alpaca pioneers, one decision at a time.  The path was not always clear, the early Alpaca Registry was an orphan of the International Lama Registry (ILR) and the alpaca community had to battle to maintain control of its database and the decisions affecting the registration of alpacas.  The ability to control our own future, free of the ILR, that the Alpaca Registry Inc. (ARI) enjoys today, eighteen years later, came at a price, and this freedom should be held dear by every alpaca breeder.

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