In July, Jennifer, Margaret and I volunteered at the Alpaca Owners’ Association National Education and Fleece Conference, held at the Boone County Cooperative Extension in Burlington, KY. The most exciting part was helping out at the judging tables, where some of the best alpaca fiber judges in the world graded the top fleeces from around the country.

Fleeces entered are shorn from the prime blanket area and skirted so that neck, belly and leg areas have been removed. They are sorted for competition by breed type (huacaya or suri), gender, age and color groups. The fleeces are assigned points using an absolute scoring system within each of the following characteristics: fineness and handle, uniformity of micron, length and color, character and density, absence of guard hair and impurities, as well as fleece weight.

Another highlight for us was meeting Marty McGee Bennetts of CAMELIDynamics while helping to set up pens and gather alpacas for her workshop on nonintrusive techniques for training and managing camelids. She showed the class that interacting with alpacas can truly be a positive experience for both the trainer and the apaca. Check out her website at https://www.camelidynamics.com/what-is-camelidynamics/ .