Barn Update July 2010

It’s the middle of summer and I have been delaying this newsletter over the last month in the hope I could send you some really good news about a good sized sale I have been working on for a number of barn alpacas. Well, almost!

Since the last newsletter at the end of April where I was spouting off about how well we were going in the show ring as usual there has been no slowing down here in the effort to be seen and therefore try and make sales. The first bit has worked, not so much the last bit…well at least there is promise. Since the last  newsletter we did several more shows and had the most successful Nationals ever. It was almost embarrassing…it was great. But when you make your living from this caper that success means nothing unless you sell. Jude and I managed to sell a few of our very top end which was the only thing keeping us afloat cash flow wise. They were animals we would never normally sell. But everything else seemed to get stalled by the lack of cash around the country………dddduuhhh! There has been a fair bit of interest, lots of talk but nothing really closing. Some of that is due to people waiting for our auction, the Pucara Premium Reserve www.pucarapreliumreserve.com  on Labor Day weekend, but mostly its just a lack of confidence in the economy.

But there maybe  movement of a little consequence soon. I have been talking with a new breeder in Colorado. I met him at the Snowmass auction in Phoenix back in Feb. ( yeah its been going on for that long!). He came to our on farm seminar in March.I visited with him at his substantial ranch north of Denver where he has a sustainable theme going on. He is an environmental and sustainable guru of some note apparently. I checked as much as I could. I have learnt over the last couple of years that it is very important to do that. He has projects going in different parts of the nation. Guess what…many were stalled by this blinking damned economy of ours. Anyway after visiting him he drew up a plan of substantial purchasing. Guess what? One minute its 40 alpacas, the next a start of five, then its up again but just to put your minds at ease SOMETHING is going to happen. He has leased a small group of males off us that we had here from Snowmass Alpacas and has signed that contract. He has assured me that he is buying a smaller group of girls to begin with, all Barn alpacas, and it will grow from there. The prices won’t be great but it should provide  some relief for you. It could be the first purchase of many. I am not holding my breath. I did think for a while that this bigger purchase was assured. I used think I had a nose for sales. This recession has dented that skill grossly BUT NOT MY MOTIVATION! I have endured the up and downs of this process with this gentleman who is a really nice bloke. But am I absolutely positive….nope! Its annoying because I held back a little in pursuing a few small sales because of this. Not anymore. Anyway I have delayed long enough in hoping I would have fantastic news for you but this is the best I can share. There is at least movement at the station?

The plans for meeting echoed by two barn members I totally agree with. Better eye to eye but I am up for phone conferencing as well. Jude and I are slammed with work for the Pucara Premium Labor Day event plus its birthing, breeding and intensive farm work time. Add to that a reduction in  our staffing due to cash flow problems due to you know what and we find ourselves slaves to ourselves…at least we enjoy it.

The Pucara Premium Reserve Auction and Pen Reserve is the single biggest project we have attempted. www.pucarapremiumreserve.com  I have spoken about it in the past newsletters. It is on farm Labor Day weekend. Barn 2 and 3 alpacas are on offer. It is scary! There has been some events like the Snowmass auction which was a glowing success in February. This past month The Parade of Champions was pretty good, not great. Alpacas are selling for less. It is bringing in a new type of buyer because now they can afford alpacas. That’s  a good thing! It is a good thing because the Barns kept breeding so at least the numbers of animals can help alleviate the lessening of prices. Still, the alpacas that had good show records do pretty well. Our AOBA Nationals auction was terrible. The reason being is that it was promoted as  a platform for all breeders to sell an animal. There was no screening so discerning buyers stayed away. It was poorly run, poorly promoted and poor quality on the whole. As opposed to that to attract people to our auction we have the best speakers, great entertainment, assistance from senior judges for buyers  and almost our whole show string is on offer! We cannot do any more. We have seen that if you can get a crowd and build excitement good things happen. The website is nearly finished but its up anyway. Because its our first it is attracting some attention. We’ll see. Please come along and put bums on seats. It will add to the  energy. The sale is broken into a traditional auction of just 33 lots but also a day long silent auction for about 80 lots where most of the Barn girls are. Please come along.

Not much else to say except to again re-iterate. If you want to talk about anything re. the barns call us. 503 843 3939

Oh, I forgot, the ratio of females born this year is way up on the farm over all. Well above 50% right now. Barn 2 is at 50% I think and Barn three about 60%. We tried some voodoo stuff and so far its working! Well its a little more scientific than that but we'll count our eggs at the end of the birthing season.

Best regards

Al