• 2012 AGM Minutes (PDF)
• 2011 Financial Report (PDF)
• Presidents Report 2012 (PDF)

Committee Minutes are also available.

Download programme as a one page PDF

Saturday 28th April

9.30 Meet and greet over refreshments
10.00 Opening and housekeeping
10.15 Dr Jim Edwards ONZM, B.V.Sc., M.R.C.V.S., Dip.Bus.Studs and Dr Vaughan Seed.
Jim and Vaughan were involved in the 1987 vetting, importation and quarantine of llama and alpaca into NZ. Their address will include many images of these early camelids.
11am Break and conversation time
11.30 Stephen Mulholland PH.D
Stephen will talk about the effect of nutrition on the quality of fleece in camelids
Noon Lunch
13.00 Stephen Mulholland PH.D
How to do your own fecal egg count. Hands on if you want !
13.30 Fibre workshop.

Felting with Joan Craig

Joan is a talented craftswoman from Waikanae. She will guide those who want to through making slippers or a hat. Or just work on your own project over refreshments. She will also have dye pots going so you can see how to dye your own fibre with natural materials
Bring your own fibre, colour co-ordinated packs for embellishing are available at $10 each, phone Judy on 06 362 6745 or ph/txt 027 2717192 before 20th April to order those or other raw materials
People supply:

• Notebook and pen
• Tape measure
• Scissors
• an old towel
• Carded fibre – not too hairy as it will be uncomfortable.  If using alpaca or llama it would be good to use a layer of merino as it helps the other fibre to felt down.
•  Something to rub felt with:  Bottom of plastic bottle or a small plastic meat tray
• Natural soap flakes if you have them
• Something for wetting the fibre – such as an old detergent bottle
• Lots of muscle power and a childlike sense of fun!

17.30 AGM at the Manakau Hall on the corner of Honi Taipua and Wi Tako Streets
18.30 Dinner at the Manakau Hotel:  At your own cost, approx $30 for 3 courses

Sunday 29th April

9.30 Morning tea with Elise Atkinson.
Elise worked at one of the early commercial llama farms in Marlborough, she took her wages in animals and they are now living out their natural life on her farm at Levin. Many NZLA members will have llama with genetics from Elise’s herd, so bring photos of your current animals for her to see.
10.15 Judy Webby
Judy will talk on clicker training as a method of re-training problem animals. Or perhaps more correctly, re-programming normal llama who have been badly trained by humans in the past.
11.00 Paws’N Music
A demonstration by Pippa Coard with Coco and Sue Clarke  with Grace of “Dancing with Dogs”
Readers of Lifestyle Block Farmer will know Sue’s name from the Poultry page
11.30 Break and discussion time
12.00  Lunch
13.00 Hands on Training
14.00 Llama trek or free time to enjoy the attractions of the Horowhenua/Kapiti region.

Here is the enrolment form for the Pack Trials (PDF) to be conducted at the 2012 AGM

Click on this link to take part in the survey.

Please forward this link http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/R2Q2LRM to any llama-owning friends or clients who are not on the NZLA mailing list.

All data is helpful and relevant, whether you have two llamas or 200. Even if “nothing went wrong” it’s good to know, we need to know how many llamas were healthy if we want to understand how often they get sick!

As with previous surveys all individual reports will be held in strict confidence, and all data will be aggregated and anonymized before publication. This data is collected to help you and your llamas, so if you or your vet have any questions, please feel free to contact Stephen at stephen@alpacasrampant.co.nz

Where: Horowhenua

Host: Judy Webby

Guest speakers Dr Jim Edwards and Vaughn Seed were involved in early selection, importation and quarantine of llamas into NZ.

Early feedback appreciated on possible attendance and topics of interest.

There are plenty of attractions around here, from Kapiti Island reserve, to wineries, a boutique beer maker and arts and crafts.

E-mail: judy@askjudy.co.nz

• NZLA Presidents Report 2011
• NZLA Treasurers Report 2011
• NZLA Audit 2011

Okay, so what is a working llama? Well, for me it is the llama that will come up for a cuddle when I have a stress headache, for Keith Payne it is the llama that will carry his gear for a weekend’s trekking. For Uta Bleidistel it is a quiet animal that she can confidently walk through the living room of a rest home, and for Francis Woolley it is a calm and inquisitive llama that will interact with members of the public. I am sure that you can add to this list through your own interactions with your llamas (just cast aside those memories of toenail trimming and vaccinations while you do it).

Last year we introduced new classes to the show schedule in celebration of the working llama. The old ‘performance’ classes were cast aside to be replaced with Trail Skills classes in order to suppress the image of a novelty animal that can walk around a balloon slalom or across a stretch of carpet and replace it with the picture of an animal that can cross a bridge, climb a ramp, and walk past succulent plantings without gorging themselves along the way.

Following on from this Naomi and I were discussing ways to promote the ‘Working Llama’. And between us we came up with the idea of making 2012 the Year of the Working Llama. Always one to push boundaries I decided to approach ‘The Americans’ in order to make it The International Year of the Working Llama, and was delighted when they enthusiastically came on board.

This is a fantastic opportunity for us to promote llamas, to educate people whose entire knowledge of llamas comes from movies which so often seem to present them as bad tempered and spitty, and to put to bed the question, “What do you do with a llama?” Here are a few ideas, if you can think of more please let Julie know and she can add them to the next magazine.

1. Organise a llama walk around your local park or wetlands. Llamas are generally welcome but if you are not sure ring your local council or DoC. You will be amazed at how many people stop and talk to you, and the majority will leave with a big smile on their face – the Therapy llama at play.
2. Contact a local rest home and see if they would like a visit. Frightened they will mess inside? Here’s a tip – take a small bag of llama poo with you. Empty it onto a patch of grass and let your llama sniff it. They will want to mark their patch too, so will usually go there and then. Just don’t forget to clear it up before you leave, or sprinkle it around a tree.
3. Contact your local A&P show and see if they would like you to attend with a couple of llamas. Most are delighted to accommodate you free of charge. If you have a pack, put it on your llama and talk to people about packing.
4. Organise a pack trial locally. Judy Webby is hosting one in March and has offered to loan people a llama so that they can learn more. Of course she is now frantically pack training llamas for people who have jumped at the chance of paying to walk a llama. Keith Payne, Craig Woodham and Lynn Barrett are all trained examiners for the pack trials, and may be available to come and certify your animals.
5. Contact your local school and see if they would like llamas at their Pet Day.
6. Contact your local pet shop and see if they have special promotion days. My local pet shop pays me $100 a weekend to attend their special pet days, which more than pays for the petrol.

All the above are examples of working llamas, even if the llamas do not appear to be doing much. That is the beauty of a llama – even at rest they have amazing therapeutic qualities. So, in celebration of the working llama – Welcome to 2012, The International Year of the Working Llama.