Julienne Gelber always had a plan to retire from her job in management consulting to establish a small farm undertaking intensive livestock production. The initial plan was to raise goats, but all this changed when she saw alpacas for the first time. “I fell in love with them. I had known of their fibre when I worked with the Australian Wool Corporation, but hadn’t realised just how enchanting the actual animal was,” she recalls.
So Bumble Hill Alpacas was born, a farm focusing on the whole alpaca fibre chain from breeding to textile production. The business breeds two types of alpaca – the suri and huacaya. A lot of the work carried out on farm to understand how alpaca fibre performs in processing and manufacturing, and what attributes the high end marketplace expects from this luxury fibre, honing the fibre characteristics accordingly.
To improve the quality of the flock, Bumble Hill utilises advanced breeding/fibre production technologies, as well as an in-house database incorporating 15 years of measurement and testing. The farm has been applying SRS Alpacas International selection criteria to stud male and stud hembra selection for 12 years.
Huacaya fibre is a silky, evenly crimped wool, said to be smoother to wear against the skin than a sheep wool fibre of comparable micron. This is down to the shape and length of the cuticle of the fibre. Huacaya alpaca fibre can be as fine as 16 micron (ultrafine) suited to babies clothing and under garments, through to 40 plus micron for carpet yarn and industrial uses.
Gelber explains in more detail: “As the micron of the alpaca increases (generally over 25 micron) the fibre develops a hollow core (the medulla) which lightens the fibre and improves its thermal properties. Luxury knitwear, blankets and suiting fabrics all benefit from these characteristics and the smoother profile of the fibre improves its resistance to friction making it particularly hard wearing,” she adds.
Suri alpaca fibre is prized for its high lustre and cool silky handle. The fibre grows on the animal in locks which gently twist from the skin to the tip. In the 26-30 micron range the fibre is suited to coating fabric, strong enough to withstand the rigors of brushing to polish and soften it.
Due to constant demand for the higher micron suri, Gelber argues the South American herd did not really focus on fine micron breeding and for generations mills considered it too difficult to process.
“The fleece itself is a thing of beauty, but in the past the lack of curvature in the fleece has caused problems for spinning, especially with the finer micron fibre. Suri alpaca was the fleece from which the glossy brushed coating fabric was manufactured by Sir Titus Salt in the mid-19th century,” says Gelber.
“My challenge has been to develop, through my breeding programme, animals producing a finer micron suri fibre which will hold together in finer yarns to convert into high quality, lightweight suri cloth. Of course it should also retain the high lustre and cool slippery handle that feels divine to wear,” she concludes.
Originally the farm was located on the coastal ranges, offering a moderate climate. However, as Bumble Hill Alpacas pursued higher fleece density, in particularly with its huacayas, it became apparent that the coastal climate was too humid and warm for the comfort of the animals, compromising the quality of their wool. The suris handled the coastal climate better, so Julienne decided to split the herd and move the huacayas to Australia’s cool central tablelands. In this area winters are typically snowy and summers cool with low humidity.
Gelber explains the decision: “I believe it will be possible to produce beautiful suri fibre in the cooler climate too, but the more open backline of the suri (suri parts down the back of the neck through to the tail) changes the management of the stock in adverse weather when they need to be sheltered in snow or wet cold windy weather.”
In 2012 the herd numbered over 300 animals - 180 huacaya and 140 suri – although not all of these animals are ‘active’. “This is a good size herd for a stud operation,” says Gelber. “We breed our females on average every 18 months and usually have 50 live births a year - 15 in late spring and 35 in mid-autumn.
“There is sufficient acceleration of genetic improvement with these numbers and careful consideration of the phenotype and genotype of our animals and their fibre is possible.”
Around a third of the herd consists of ‘retirees’, mostly females and old fleece wethers (animals with superseded fleece genetics that have given good service). These animals live in the back paddocks, acting as guards or ‘grannies’ in the breeding groups.
Correct stud selection is vital to the direction of the breeding programme, as well as ensuring the females are of the highest quality. Studs are generally picked for an extreme characteristic that it is hoped once introduced will offer an improved fibre outcome. Julienne describes this as building up the complexity of the fleece style in layers, like an onion. Bumble Hill breeds 50 females annually, working on the basis of one male per ten females. These males are also available for mating at other alpaca enterprises.
Gelber explains the desired breeding characteristics: “The strength of any bloodline/stud herd is the underlying health and frame of the animal. Calm disposition in all stock is essential as is good mothering and ease of reproduction in our females and high fecundity in both males and females. The fleece is then built on – fineness, density, handle and good uniform structure.”
The farm objectively and subjectively evaluates the ability of the stock to grow high quality fibre and maintain it for a profitable time. The animals are shorn annually, at which time the length and fleece weights of all animals are recorded and fleece samples for the entire herd sent for laboratory measurement.
Gelber can assess more about the potential of stud males to pass on high quality fleece values through skin biopsies and progeny testing. “Alpacas generally birth a single cria and the gestational interval is 11 ½ months, so the rate of genetic change is painfully slow,” she notes.
Bumble Hill Alpacas has developed its own breeding programme known as Surissimo. For Gelber this involved a complete change of fleece structure for the suri alpaca, with a view to capturing the beauty of the finer suri fibre in woven and knitted fabrics. Still mills remained reluctant or unable to convert the raw fibre because of its slippery, almost hair-like nature.
She/Julienne explains the process: “We set out to produce fine suri fibre which would perform in yarn and cloth, without losing the fabulous lustre and silken handle that was inherent in the breed. I had to identify, with the help of spinning and weaving specialists, what fibre characteristics were lacking, then search locally and overseas for animals which appeared to have unusual fleece that may impact on the quality suris we had in our herd, to force the fleece style towards a more processing friendly style.
“The style of the ‘ideal’ fibre (the genetic improvement), the harvesting and care taken to deliver the uniform highest quality suri for processing, is what sets Surissimo fibre apart.”
An ethos of science and research is embodied in Bumble Hill Alpaca’s stud management. All assessment of production is measured quantitatively against set performance criteria. The farm is also patron of a number of university research projects into alpaca genetics and defects, some of which involve a subgroup of its alpaca hembras.
According to Gelber, ensuring stability in genetics is the most important aspect of breeding for fibre. Once that stability is embedded, the measurement/testing represents the fine tuning required to deliver to exact specifications.
All the fleeces are classed and the components separated (usually by length and micron i.e. neck, saddle and upper leg). A mid-side saddle sample of all commercial fleeces is measured for length and sent off for testing (micron and uniformity of micron) and the prime saddle fleece is weighed.
“The test results are used to indicate the suitability of the fleece for any fibre collection and also to track the fibre blow-out in the animal (caused by genetics, climate or lifecycle demands) which will determine its status within the fibre production side of the stud,” Gelber explains.
“Annual test results keep the fibre production very focused – without them a stud’s breeding programme could quickly lose a year or two of production through inappropriate joinings or a flirtation with a fibre style that really wasn’t delivering to specification.”
Sustainable farming practices are key to the Bumble Hill philosophy. “I am a fifth generation Australian involved with the land. To be entrusted with a parcel of Australia is an enormous privilege and responsibility. At the forefront of all my land practices is a respect for my land,” Gelber says.
“Through low chemical usage, grazing management and environment renewal, our objective is to transfer to the next generation a piece of Australia that is healthy and balanced.”
Gelber argues that sustainable farming also delivers quantifiable benefits to the business, such as optimum utilisation of land and water resources, generating a high quality grazing environment.
Above all, the breeding programmes are driven by the needs of the alpaca fibre supply chain. “Whilst we cannot respond to the ‘whims’ of high fashion with our fibre characteristics, our long term objective for our fibre product is it must perform well at all stages of processing to deliver a good commercial outcome to the grower, processors and end users. This is the only way in which stable demand and raw wool prices will be returned to the alpaca fibre producer,” argues Gelber.
To date most of Bumble Hill’s work with mills has been in trials. In the past the farm worked with CSIRO and AgResearch to test the genetic changes introduced to the shape of suri fibre to ensure successful processability. Ten years ago the farm also produced rugs with a Yorkshire mill and additional scouring trials have been done with an Australian mill.
“The frustration has been that whilst we knew the potential of the fibre for which we aimed, the minimum quantities for trialling, commercial processing and production has stalled our progress. Now, for the first time we are growing sufficient quantities of high quality alpaca to embark on a commercial venture,” Gelber states.
The farm has an additional revenue stream selling some animals, with stud males commanding the highest prices. Only the best males are suitable for stud work, with perhaps just one in 100 at stud level regarded as the genuine article. According to Gelber, a prepotent, high breeding value male can dramatically impact on the fibre quality of a herd within two years.
“Stud females suited to embryo transfer donor work command excellent prices since a good harvest of embryos can accelerate genetic improvement within a herd. Sadly, performance in the show ring in Australia is one of the major determinants of price/value as the industry as a whole is not focused on commercial fibre production.”
Bumble Hill Alpacas has in place the genetics to produce high quality suri and huacaya alpaca, coupled with an understanding of the management systems used to harvest, class and deliver fibre to the production chain. It is with this knowledge and experience that Gelber believes 2013 will be Bumble Hill’s breakthrough year.
“The breeder group with which we are associated and other individual fibre producers now give us access to a commercial quantity of highest quality fibre. We just need to convince one high quality mill or client that we can deliver superior suri and huacaya alpaca to a standard not hitherto seen. An opportunity for both parties.”