Lest we forget...

It's the shearer who has the full on job. 

Our job is  support and service. We have to keep the alpacas coming too the shearer dry, relatively unstressed and without pause throughout the day so he/she can maintain a rythmn and get on with the job without drowning in fleece. 

Then we must get the shorn alpacas out away back to their paddocks where they can relax and adjust to the new temperature of their existence. 

Our second job which is also primary to TOFT is to get the fleece off the table and get it skirted, sorted and graded and into the appropriate bags in the six minutes before the next one arrives. 

 We find great bacon sandwiches for 2nd breakfast around 9 am, a great lunch at 1.30pm and cake and tea around four keeps the table humming until 7.30pm weather permitting.

The weather held good this year everyone performed professionally and with good humour, job was done and we all carry the experience as a memory until next year when we shall do the same again. All that is left now is the tidying up. The sorted and graded batches go off to the mill next week to be turned into TOFT luxury yarn. The rejected fleece will be picked up by the stuffing man, sheds swept and cleaned, hurdles returned to the paddocks and all will seem like it had never happened- except of course we have 200 pink panthers wandering around our paddocks until October when the re growth start to soften the look again.

'Twas ever thus...

TOFT Nashira takes Champion Light fleece at the British Alpaca Futurity 2015

TOFT Nashira added to her broad ribbon Championship win at the BAS National fleece show with winning another broad ribbon Light Championship today at the British Alpaca Futurity Fleece Show 2015.

TOFT Nashira is a real TOFT treasure. She is out of our medium fawn stud male Barrabinda Flinders Star. She is maintaining excellence in her fleece as she ages having put forward her fourth fleece this year to take the Huacaya Light Championship in both the BAS Nationals and the British Alpaca Futurity.

TOFT fleeces are Champion in the British Alpaca Society National Fleece Show

Good results from TOFT in the. British Alpaca Society Fleece Show 2015.

TOFT Adele- 1st in class and Champion Brown

TOFT Nautilius- 1stin class and Champion Light

TOFT Tai Pan- 2nd in class

TOFT  Nashira - 2nd in class

The glamour of Alpaca fleece judging... Alpaka show Ost

All an alpaca fleece judge needs is a big warm room, nice high table, detailed preparation, good organisation, a good scribe. Throw her a bun regular  and she can keep herself amused for hours. Does she care that we are in the beautiful town of Burgstadt in Germany? Not a jot. The world could end at noon and she'd not notice until the last fleece is scored and done.

Saturday and Sunday in the halter classes will be a different matter entirely Mrs Toft Alpaca Judge has 180 alpacas to judge in one and a half days. She is already behind before she starts at midday tomorrow but there's no rescheduling the ancillary events. It turns out she is also sharing the ring with a fashion show, fleece talks and various other presentations and alpaca attractions. The girl will have to get her skates on early doors to ensure the prizes are not awarded under floodlights on Sunday.

Nice big hall for the halter- the hut in the middle is the association office. It arrived first and the rest is set up around it. Nice scorecards too with the show branding. If the alpacas are as nice as the people it should be a great weekend.There is a lot more alpaca show here than I thought there was going to be and the enthusiasm and commitment is tangible - love it. Can't wait for the alpacas to arrive and the show to start. Somewhere on site this weekend there will be camel riding- what me? No I don't think so. I'll look like a bad version of Oliver Reed in Gladiator.

"Which bit is mine then?"

Alpaca shearing sequence

At Six minutes an alpaca a video is a long job and needs a special set up at this busy time. This sequence of photographs is the best I could do but at least it a wee glimpse of Alpaca Shearing Toft style. For all those who are still shearing on the floor I have to warn you the floor gets further away each year as you get older and the fleece job is a pleasure when you work on a table.

First the alpaca is led to the shearing table. Lifted by the shearer and his handler onto the table.

Our shearing table staff hold the head whilst the alpaca is made secure by tethering its legs and stretching gently. Toe nails are quickly clipped at the same time whilst there are three people on the job.

Once our Shearing table oppo passes the alpacas head back to the Shearers handler they concentrate on rough sorting the fleece around the shearer shoving all the extremely rough stuff off the legs and belly and any contaminated fibre into the 'waste' bin.

The alpaca shearer shears one side, the alpaca is turned and the shears the other. Six minutes -tops.

Then finally the blanket, the best part of the fleece is taken to the sorting table to be skirted and sorted for processing into luxury TOFT knotting yarn.

It takes about six minutes on average. 10 alpacas per hour weather permitting. For 200 alpacas it's a full hands on two days of ferrying in our gorgeous teddy bears and running out the Pink Panthers.

Alpaca shearing: 11 to go and Archie gets styled

What a week. Shearing delayed again yesterday due to bad weather. We finally kicked off about 12pm and coked right through until 8.30pm last night. At which point it was feed the dogs, Indian takeaway and bed.

The Toft team have been fantastic in this difficult week with Paul Beswick of Du Prem alpacas and our herds woman Linda did an amazing job of shuffling the dry alpacas to keep Mr Wheeler and his assistant John in dry alpacas.

Yesterday we had Claire from the Toft Alpaca Shop helping at the shearing table with Kerry and myself skirting and sorting at the sorting table. Needless to say Mrs B was clucking  around all day supervising, (what would we do without it) in between long absences whilst looking after young master Lord. My wonderful mother in law Myra did her best to keep the shed spotless and Doug, Kerry's other half , who was workings from home, did a sterling job of supplying the occasional teas coffees and biscuits to keep up morale.

We are all up at the crack of sparrows this morning to finish off the last 11 of the alpaca pets in order to get the shearer away to other alpaca owners for their turn at ' the shearing'. The sun is shining there's not a breath of wind. You would have no idea that we have just been through our most difficult shearing in the 15 years we have been shearing alpacas.

Except of course for the mess. The tent has died and has now seen its last shearing, the sorting lamps gave up the ghost, the ground is covered with muddy bits of fleece and the sorting table needs running repairs. 'Twas ever thus.

In between all the fun and games. Archie our Llama was restyled with a barrel cut. Apparently it is all the rage in the Llama world. It certainly gives young Archie a rakish air. Don't tell him he's losing his Crown Jewels in a couple of weeks time. Toft alpacas doesn't need a randy Llama on site at any time!!

Alpaca shearing: we like to start them in the alpaca sorting shed early at Toft

Young Eddie Lord at eight months is starting his alpaca apprenticeship early. Exploitation? Never!

Alpaca shearing: Rain stopped play

The elements finally defeated us last night at about 7pm. After a horrendous day in which we experienced several hail storms, three absolutely torrential downpours and endless gusts of freezing cold wind that burst on the scene as each alpaca hit the table. Horrendous!!

Still we managed to shear 90 alpacas and we have roughly 95 still to go. We are leaving the alpacas to dry this morning in the sun and will shed them up this afternoon ready for the return of the shearer lunchtime to mid afternoon when we shall carry on where we left off. 

Kerry and I spent. Most of the day sorting and skirting fleeces in the brick barn which was a bit like a wind tunnel. Ben Wheeler the shearer, his helper John and Harriett from the Toft Alpaca Shop worked the table holding alpaca and fleece in place throughout the gales. Linda  our herds woman was running about like a squirrel on speed shedding up and moving alpacas back and forth to keep the shearer in alpacas. She was ably assisted in this important task by Paul Beswick one of our clients who kindly volunteered to help throughout shearing. We were all serviced with tea and coffee and cake throughout by the wonderful Claire from the Toft Alpaca Shop where we also adjourned for lunch.Even young Eddie Lord made his presence felt offering 'words' of encouragement from his mothers back.

Lets hope that rain gives us a miss today as we run through the second half of the herd.