Coarse Broads

Coarse Broads driving and exciting goal is to promote and develop a fiber based industry that is creating products using all grades of alpaca, thereby maximizing North American Fiber for North American Alpaca Producers.  Foremost on our agenda is educating North American Alpaca Producers about profit opportunities, uses for fiber, and the expanding and viable American market that is available today.

Seminars Available

Fiber Sorting for Maxium Profit:  Uniform fiber creates product consistency and is key to developing a North American Fiber Industry.  Think beyond yarn, think beyond first, second, and thirds.  Think beyond histograms and micron counts.  What are your options for your annual harvest.  Explore the following:  There are many grades of fiber

  • **All grades have value and are income opportunities

  • **If a histogram says 17 microns, it doesn't necessarily mean the whole alpaca is 17 microns.

    The Myths of Fleece and AAFL
    Excerpt from Fleece article by Michael Jack AAA Ltd. Central Coast & Hunter NWS Region Fleece Liaison Officer

    “Firstly, it appears that the myth of using a mid-side sample as a guide to the commercial value of alpaca fleece is still considered by some breeders to be a good guide to the value of their fleece. Let us be quite clear about this; the mid-side sample is useful as a breeding guide, provided samples are always taken from the same place and used in comparisons between animals. However, the mid-side sample is of no use whatsoever as a guide to the commercial value of a fleece.”

  • **A uniform alpaca fleece is vital to ease of processing, keeping costs down, and a higher profit margin.

It's not what you make, it's what you keep:  Sustainable agriculture. Ultimately isn't that every ones goal?  It is easy to love spending time with the alpacas, but isn't the icing on the cake when we can utilize the gift of fiber these animals give each year to pay their own way?  It's not what you make, it's what you keep covers the ways to set up your farm, run your farm, and keep costs down and income up.  3 hr seminar.

Presented by: Carrie Hull and Robyn Kuhl

A good yarn: Yarn is the base of all textiles.  As a breeder of fiber producing animals, alpaca breeders need to understand how what you do affects this basic building block. 

A Good Yarn walks you thru how yarns are constructed, why they are constructed the way they are and the affect fiber health and fiber condition has on the yarns produced. 

3  hr seminar.

Presented by: Carrie Hull and Robyn Kuhl

Coarse Broads Speaking fees:

  • $500 / day / each speaker

  • Deposit to be determined on a case by case basis, to be paid at the time of booking. The deposit will be credited towards the speaking and/or reimbursemnet fees incurred by the host farm/organization.

  • Reimbursement of expenses to include

    • Airfare / speaker

    • Meals / speaker

    • Lodging / speaker ( speakers can lodge together)

    • Travel day expense to include; travel to the airport, parking, ($125 for the first speaker $100 for the second speaker if traveliing together) hotel the night before if flight leaves before 10:00 a.m. add $130 for Hotel the night before flight.

    • $.45 / mile round trip plus travel time if speakers are driving to the event.

A Workshop is 3 hours and includes the Power point presentation of one seminar.

Day long seminars are 7 hours and includes up to 2 topics.  Power point presentation and demonstration of sorting and Q and A session.

Seminar/Sort Days are 7 hours days.  The first day includes Power point presentation of Fiber Sorting for Maximum Profit then 3 hours of training for shearing staff. The next day is sorting while shearing.

Please asks for a quote that fits your unique situation.

Sorting Certification Training

In order to bring the North American Alpaca Fiber Industry into reality we need to standardize the processes. The Certified Sorted ™ System is the first step in accomplishing that. Sorting fiber allows us to create uniformity in the fiber we already have. Uniform fiber allows us to produce high quality consistent products.

A certified Sorter can work year round when you take into consideration the amounts of fiber stored in attics, barns, boats, summer homes and spare bedrooms.

We offer 3 classes in 2010. For more details click Class Descriptions.

For Certification Requirements click here.

For the Registration Form click here.

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