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Board Liaison
Dr. Toni Cotton (bestbrd@bright.net)
The SN Research Committee met at the recent Summer Symposium in Estes
Park to define a mission statement and delineate the goals and
methodology for the initial phase of the North American Suri Alpaca
Fiber Characteristics Study. This meeting was the culmination of a great
deal of previous work by the Research Committee led by Dr. Toni Cotton.
The SN Research Committee members who have been involved in the
preliminary work on this project include: Mary Lou Clingan, Anne Hayes,
Claudia Raessler, Bill Vonderhaar, Laurel Shouvlin, Kay Ryschon, Carolyn
Geise, Andy Tillman, Jacqueline Cristini and Bruce Van Natta.
Additional SN members attending the Summer Symposium sessions were:
Sandy Fisher, Anne Fisher, Jane Reed, Tim Timmerman, Patty Kuntz, Linda
Berry Walker, Lynn Mulherin, Tammy Hill, Steve Knoblock and Gini Barker.
Dr. Amanda Thompson from Auburn University, who has done research on
alpaca fiber, graciously agreed to oversee our project and was in
attendance throughout the committee discussions.
The mission statement developed for the Research Committee is:
“The Suri Network Research Committee will seek to identify, fund and
conduct research projects that will delineate the unique characteristics
of suri fiber, to allow the North American Suri industry to be
competitive in the world market.”
After much review and discussion, the Research Committee defined the
goal of the initial study as collecting data at the 2006 shearing to
permit current and future studies of suri fleece characteristics. The
methodology will involve the enlistment of 100 animals, 50 white and 50
colored, at the time of the 2006 shearing in their second fleece, with
at least 10 months growth and not more than 13 months re-growth. The
animals will be anonymously submitted and assigned a research number. A
donation from the enrolling farm will be requested to offset expenses.
In return the farm will be provided with all the data and test results
on their animals as the study/data collection progresses.
A print or high resolution digital photo in full or second fleece should
accompany the fleece samples. Sex, height at the withers and weight of
the animal will be recorded by the owner. A lock classification will be
made by SN and high resolution (>6 megabyte) digital photos of
individual locks will be taken. Color will be assessed using a hand held
spectrophotometer. Both Yokum-McColl and OFDA 2000 fiber analyses will
be performed. Staple length will be measured with the OFDA 2000. Shear
weight will be recorded by the owner.
Fleece samples from three specific areas will be taken from the mid hip,
barrel, and shoulder. Samples should be equal in width to the electric
shearing head, identified and placed in a zip lock bag. The fiber sample
from the barrel must be taken from the same location as the skin biopsy.
An additional 3 ounce sample (which is equivalent to three widths of the
shearing head) from the blanket will be collected for future amino acid
and chemical analysis. A punch skin biopsy will be taken from the mid
barrel and placed in formalin for future use. The scientific
measurements and tests that we would like to perform on the fiber
samples taken include Scanning and Transmission Electron Microscopy, the
determination of the tensile strength of Suri fiber and the primary and
secondary hair follicle ratios from the skin biopsies taken at the time
of sampling. If a technologically sound means of measuring luster is
found this too may be included.
The amount of testing performed on the submitted samples will depend
fully on the funding available for the project at hand.
It is the hope of the Research Committee that this data will serve as a
benchmark for suri alpaca fleece of the North American herd at this
point in time. We hope to be able to analyze the data obtained in an
ongoing fashion and draw conclusions as to possible interrelationships
of the various characteristics. Future studies will be explored as well
as the utililization of outside funding sources such as the USDA and
others. The committee is very excited about carrying out this important
project in a professional and scientifically valid fashion. It is hoped
that the information gained will be of great use and benefit to all the
membership of Suri Network.
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