Re: [AlpacaTalk] Re: Other alpaca discussion groups
Hi Allison,
Coming from a "corporate environment" I am accustomed to the "them" vs. "us" line of thinking. I could never completely understand or embrace the concept, but it is definitely prevalent.
To add to your excellent observations and commentary, I think there is a need for both "large" and "small" farms in our industry....
I have often wondered how "large/big farms", as referred to or implied within the context of the original email, are defined.....
Dianna
Dianna & Jack Jordan
Alpacas of Somerset Farm
www.alpacasomersetf
www.alpacanation.
530-620-6033
----- Original Message -----
From: Allison Moss-Fritch
To: AlpacaTalk@yahoogro
Sent: Thursday, June 07, 2007 12:40 AM
Subject: RE: [AlpacaTalk] Re: Other alpaca discussion groups
Hi Heather,
As you know, I'm censored from time to time at Alpacasite mostly because I
don't cotton to Rick's politics and won't clam up to please him. We are
very different folks, he and I.
On the big farms wanting to muzzle the rest of us.remember that power is in
the eye of the beholder. If upon viewing the general's insignia you mistake
him for a door man, he won't be doing much to order you around. It is like
that with all power. To remove power from a person, merely refuse to
recognize that they have it and they lose it because you won't defer to
them.
So if you have integrity and are strong, taking the flack when it is
necessary, and speaking out responsibly, then you have nothing to fear.
When the smaller farms stand firm and speak their mind.others will join
them. Courage builds in a crowd. After all, what can a large farm do to
you.refuse to buy your animals.they only buy from each other in the first
place. Can they refuse to compete? I guess so, but that merely leaves the
field clear for those of us who will continue to compete. Can they try to
stack the elections? They already do, but it does not work if you refuse to
be scared. In reality there are more little farms than big ones, so the
majority vote is ours if they don't intimidate us. If they refuse to sell
to us, pretty soon their sales, not ours, dry up. The greatest thing we
have to fear is our own tendency to quiver.not anything from reality.
In the end, it is the small farms as a group who outweigh the few large
farms.when they stick together. And, as you fairly say, it is not all
large farms nor every large breeder.just a few who choose to try to
manipulate. Open discussion among the rest of us and dialog with the larger
farms which have integrity is the way to nip that sort of attempt to build a
monarchy. The truth is that all of us, large and small, survive better in
an open press than a managed one. We all learn from the dialog we have with
one another and we all thrive better when we help each other survive. If we
detract from one another, it is the reputation of the industry as a whole
that is disparaged, not just an individual breeder.
Allison E. Moss-Fritch
New Moon Alpacas
Santa Clara, CA
408/248-3581
http://www.newmoona
From: AlpacaTalk@yahoogro
Behalf Of Heather Zeleny
Sent: Wednesday, June 06, 2007 4:45 PM
To: AlpacaTalk@yahoogro
Subject: Re: [AlpacaTalk] Re: Other alpaca discussion groups
Actually, when we started in this business 10 years ago, we were told
by a large breeder that we shouldn't talk about any health problems we
encountered. When we started losing animals to liver flukes, BECAUSE no
one would talk about problems, even the vets had no idea what could be
done to save those that were sick but not yet dead. So maybe the term
"big farm" might have been a generalisation, but it was the large farms
in the Northwest who effectively gagged any plea for help, any
discussion of what do if this or that happens on your farm....
There are a few who get their noses all out of joint when someone
brings up the large farm/small farm issue. Guess what, big farms have a
lot more power in this industry, just as any large company has more
power than a small one. That is the truth and pretending that it is
not, is either naive or in denial. yes, hopefully all the large farms
are now forthright in the truth about the business and animal heath and
care, but that was not always true.
Heather
Heather Zeleny
West Wind Alpacas
Eugene, OR
Holistic Farm and Elite Fleece
Home of Avatar's West Wind Scirocco, El Bello's Padré, Pluro grandson
Sienna Illusion, and true black full Bolivian Cosby of Chelsea Farms!
http://www.westwind
http://www.alpacana
http://tech.
On Jun 6, 2007, at 2:41 PM, Shouvlins wrote:
> Wow Sheri,
>
> That seems a bit unfair and why would only big farms take this
> approach. Everyone in the breeding business wants to sell alpacas, no
> matter what their size. It seems a bit unfair to claim that only big
> farms deceive folks. Frankly I haven't found that to be true, although
> there has been one farm I know of like that, but I attribute that to
> the individual, not the size of the farm. I know of small breeders who
> cheat too. It ain't a size thing, it's an individual character thing.
>
> Laurel
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