Wool Yarn Mill Ends

Alpaca breeders get serious

Peter McKay gives a demonstration of the mating ritual of the alpaca. It's not what you think. The Hawke's Bay farmer tilts back his head, opens his throat and goes "orgleorgleorgleorgle".

This rumbling gargle is the male alpaca's foreplay. It starts the female ovulating. Mr McKay and wife Tessa have 160 alpacas on their 235-hectare sheep and beef farm at Maraekakaho.

Mrs McKay tells what happens next. "They mate sitting down. It's called a cush," she says. "Then we wait two weeks to see if she is pregnant. If she goes into the cush for him, it didn't work the first time. If she spits at him, it did."

She bursts into laughter. "It's called a spit-off. No, really, it is."

The couple are serious alpaca breeders. The long-haired, long- necked South American close relation to the llama and camel has become a popular pet among lifestylers since it was first imported more than 20 years ago.

But now it is developing beyond this - moving from a small industry based on building up breeding stock to one that exploits the alpaca's best qualities.

The chief attribute is its long, lustrous and silky fine fibre. It can be knitted into inexpensive garments or woven into high- priced Italian suits.

The McKays imported New Zealand's first alpaca fibre mill five years ago and have gradually built up production of a range of garments and yarn.

"Alpaca clothing breathes with you," Mrs McKay says. "Its hollow fibres trap air and it matches your body temperature, which makes it good for babies and youngsters."

Now the couple are working on another of the alpaca's attributes, one that is rarely made use of outside of South America. It is the meat.

They have passed two crucial tests - getting Agriculture and Forestry Ministry approval to process alpacas at a Feilding meat plant, and the taste test.

Chefs describe the flavour as similar to lamb, lean and tender but with a slightly gamey taste.

So far, it is on the menu of several restaurants, mainly in Hawke's Bay, and is being marketed further afield by hotels supplier Grande Gourmet.

The reaction from customers so far has been positive.

Mark Southon, chef at The Food Store, Auckland, says he wants to price alpaca - which comes in traditional cuts of strip loins, shanks, French racks, shoulders, back straps and particularly tasty neck chops - at just below the most expensive meats to encourage diners to try it.

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