I nominate John Merrell for president of the United States!!! Just kidding, but would you be willing to take on AOBA? Perhaps after you move on from the AFCNA?
What a wonderful post John! I would love to post this on Alpaca site, but would get moderated again by Rick for doing so. But you cold put it there!!!! Maybe edited a bit since it refers to conversations here.
Thanks for the wakeup call this AM
Laurel
Tim & Laurel Shouvlin
Bluebird Hills Farm
3617 Derr Rd.
Springfield, Ohio 45503
bluebirdhills@voyager.net
www.bluebirdhills.com
937-206-3936
----- Original Message -----
From: gatewayfarm
To: AlpacaTalk@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, January 10, 2008 3:25 AM
Subject: [AlpacaTalk] Re: Fwd: Thanks for all your sharing
That long, rambling dissertation is a perfect example of the damage
that is done when people "go silent".
It doesn't go away, it takes on a life of its own. It becomes
cancerous, malignant, and it grows to take in more and more innocent
people.
A shame, and largely avoidable.
I don't believe that there is a dark conspiracy led in an oreganized
manner by some group of dour dons sipping cognac and smoking cigars
in a walnut panneled room somehwere.
I don't believe that malevolent forces are at work trying to take
over the alpaca industry for themselves.
It is far simpler than that, and based entirely in human nature, at
least from my perspective.
If 5-10% of the US herd had originated on my farm, either through
births or breedings, then I would expect that my farm would appear in
the names of many, many alpacas on many farms across the country.
That doesn't make all those owners part of a conspiracy. (Where do I
come up with 5-10%? Assuming 1,000 sold offspring a year for 10
years, that would be 10% of a national herd of 100,000).
If I had that big of a stake in an entire industry, you can be darn
sure I would be doing all I could to make the industry a success - a
success that molded to my vision and my model. That isn't greed,
"it's just good business." (Which I seem to remember was a line in
the last Pirates of the Carribean movie.)
That there are ways to "make" money by giving money away should be no
surprise, and there is nothing wrong with it.
That influence comes with prestige and wealth should not be a shock
to anyone...
Of course, envy and suspicion should not be a shock either...
All human nature.
Who are we to judge who is a sycophant, who is made, and who is
making it on their own?
I really do believe that this industry is mostly full of well
intentioned people doing the best they can. That said, it is my
opinion that AOBA marketing has created a monster. It attempts to
support an unsustainable model by throwing more and more money at it.
It results in people buying into the industry that can ill afford
to. (I actually saw an alpaca add the other day that began with a
statement to the effect of, "You deserve to be a millionaire.")
Alpacas are not an investment, they are not a lifestyle and they are
seldom huggable. They are livestock, that need to be fed and watered
and cleaned up after. They keep you home on vacation, keep you up
late at night, have a multitude of ways of causing unexpected
expenses, and refuse to sell themselves. They break legs, get sick
and even die - none of which is reflected in the current marketing.
They are the source of endless angst, unbounded joy - all bundled up
as a little fuzzball with a long neck and legs.
They are the Capitalists playground, and are subject to all of
capitalisms dreams AND excesses.
As long as people judge their success in this industry by how much
they make, or how much they can write off, or any other dollar based
criteria, we will have only greater and greater problems.
Jan Davis is one of the most timeless, respectful women I have had
the privilege to have known. Does she get crabby? No doubt (sorry
Jan, but it's true!) Does she conspire, cheat, steal or talk
negatively about others? I have never seen it!
But hey, I do the website for the International Alpaca Odyssey, so I
am probably a part of this conspiracy too, right? Oh, and I am a
sitting Director, so surely I am!
I will debate the direction of AOBA and our industry with anyone.
The Forstners may be worth far more than I can dream of, but I know
Jerry puts his pants on the same way I do every morning. He may not
always take a cotton to my perspectives and opinions, but I have a
right to RESPECTFULLY press my point - even though it may at times be
at his expense. He MAY be arrogant, vindictive and used to getting
his way, but I doubt he is malevolent or evil, as he is often cast -
just another man doing the best he can with what he has, for better
or for worse.
Libby reminds me of a broody hen. She protects her clutch, even to
her own demise. I long ago realized the futility of logic, since
anything that has the apearance of an attack on those she cares about
precipitates an amazingly strong emotional reaction to defend -
rather like that hen pecking at my hand when I snag her eggs.
Doesn't do any good to talk nicely to the hen, and even less good to
try to convince her that giving me the eggs is the logical thing to
do.
Do these "rich folk" manipulate the rest of us? Hardly. They fight
amongst themselves just as much as the rest of us do. They even hold
grudges - sometimes for years. Some of those grudges are
legendary!! Forstner/Stachowski. Safley/Hoffman. Shall we list
them all here?
You know what I think? I think we are all pioneers. We have the
potential to create a new primary agricultural industry here in the
United States. It is in our grasp people! But to make it happen we
have to work together.
It's not about who can sell the most animals at top dollar, who wins
the most ribbons, who writes the most books or does the most
seminars, which mini-mill will succeed, which will fail, who will
overspend themselves or who will get rich.
It's about the fiber and the farm. It's about sustainable
agriculture. It's about small farms with hard working families
raising kids away from gangs and drugs making enough money off of
their little piece of paradise to survive and thrive, and maybe to
even have something to pass on to their grandchildren.
And none of that is going to happen as long as people look upon each
other with suspicion and distrust, and spread hate and bile in the
background.
Nor will it happen if our leadership thinks they know the better way
and actively work to shut off dissenting opinions (that is, unless
its me ;-)).
It will happen if we start listening and acknowledging different
perspectives. It will happen with communication and respect. It
will happen with an engaged and active community of owners and
breeders and producers.
It will happen when we recognize that our treasure is not in what we
can make from our alpacas, but what we can make out of our alpacas.
It will happen when we judge our success not with our wallet, but
with our will, our desire, and our success.
Enough soap box time for me.
John Merrell
Gateway Farm Alpacas
http://www.gateway-alpacas.com
Alpaca, a natural elegance...
Oh, by the way, if AOBA won't use you that want to volunteer, I have
it by a credible source that AFCNA would very much like to use your
energy and skills.
--- In AlpacaTalk@yahoogroups.com, Heather Zeleny <alpacatalk@...>
wrote:
>
> In my current unfortunate position as Chief Question Asker, I
received
> this email, and not from Ana nor from John. This is someone, I'll
be
> quite honest, that I had never heard of before. But that makes no
> difference, I'm sure most people never would have heard of me if
I'd
> sit down and shut up and just assume the position and take
everything
> that's given to me, or offered at exorbitant pricetags... I hope
more
> people will have the courage to speak up and tell what they know.
>
> To me, dear Libby, this is not about you or your family. This is
about
> AOBA and that WE, the members, should be calling the shots, and WE
> should have services that are affordable to all members, not just
those
> who have a spare $1500 or $5000 every year, in addition to $795 for
the
> FRG plus $5k for I love alpacas, plus whatever the hell the fees
are
> for a 1/3 page ad in the other pubs... I know, I really do get it,
this
> is pocket change to you. But to many of us, this is a major portion
of
> our yearly gross income. It's about fairness. I really don't care
how
> <certain people with names and identities deleted> have got AOBA
> controlled, it's about US. The rest of us. We deserve a chance too.
>
> Heather
>
>
>
> >
> > Heather:
> >
> > You ARE on the right trail! Follow the money and games, and you
will
> > find yourself at Jerry and Libby's doorstep!!!
> >
> > Perhaps it has been such a long 2 years, and most folks forgot
(or are
> > too new) but AOBA resides in a fat lease in Jerry's building, in
the
> > state where they know how to play the game like this new corp.
without
> > articles of incorporation and by-laws! And, since it has now come
into
> > the open that there may not be ANY by-laws or articles of
> > incorporation, AND MONIES have been moved out of AOBA the next
HUGE
> > question becomes "WHO CONTROLS THE MONEY?" I find Ana and Floyd
to be
> > intelligent people, none of all this anguish puts a darned cent
in
> > their pockets, but does outline their knowledge and concern. YES,
they
> > originally made friends, or so they thought with the Magical
Family,
> > BUT when they would not play it their way, Magical simply pulled
the
> > rug they had extended to them out from under them. This left them
with
> > little business, made them look bad, and broke! But still, all of
this
> > will not put a cent in their pockets, only put on the table what
has
> > been played with under the table, by those who are power mongers!
But,
> > they also got them booted from AOBA, so they had zero visibility
in
> > the industry as a whole!
> >
> > Perhaps it has been so long since the move most have forgotten
about
> > the pallets of documents that shipped NOT to the new office but
wound
> > up in storage in a warehouse controlled by a BOD member, and how
many
> > BOD persons are also ILA members own MFI alpacas? Follow the
money; it
> > will lead you to the truth!
> >
> > I do see how Libby finds ANA to be the problem, but no one hears
> > Libby recanting how greedy the judge found them in their lawsuit
> > against Land of Lakes, and how little he awarded them, in light
of the
> > 85 million they filed suit for. But that should not make Libby
and
> > Jerry greedy, it's ok that that amount would have jacked up the
cost
> > of all other products that the company makes. It will also be OK
and
> > JUST FINE when no other companies want to label anything for
alpacas,
> > because they now see us as a sue happy group of greed driven
idiots,
> > so why take on the liability and do the R&D to make a darned
thing for
> > us. BTW, yes it would help the industry if a large med
manufacturer
> > labeled a product for us, and we pulled our heads out and co-
opted
> > advertising nationally for it, as then folks would see our
animals in
> > the ads! DUH! Attached to a well-known pet brand, gosh, what a
> > concept!
> >
> > There are puppets and puppeteers in this game and there are many
who
> > have been legally threatened should they go to far with this!!!
Steve
> > Hull is perhaps the cheapest to buy puppet in the whole game but
that
> > is how a guy, who with his education only owns ½ interest in a
very
> > small herd winds up in the national team plays errand boy for
those
> > with the money, and NO you can not recount ballots Steve
destroyed
> > them his oversight RIGHT! He did not know any better, great
one!!!
> > After all, it was the Jerry's team that put him in the news and
it is
> > an annual stop on his seminar list and he is on the BOD, and ILA
where
> > his ok is needed when expected and Erin, check out her herdsire
row,
> > too much MFI to be clean and ILA as well and Amy, same news! And
when
> > you do these searches you will be amazed they all have the same
> > pattern! PROOF: All this is on alpaca site posts of the past so
should
> > be in archive, UNLESS Rick cleaned those out for them!! I also
see Jan
> > Davis has had to put her 2 cents in, while she was a funding
source
> > for the interveners, has her hands in every political situation,
> > backs the competing shows of THE INTERNATIONAL ALPACA SHOWS, is
or has
> > been a ILA member and who's herd is registered under the DAVIS
> > RESIDUAL TRUST, Wish we all had so much in trust you had to form
a
> > residual trust to carry the overload! OK, my bad. But since
everyone
> > gets a turn at bad why not ALL OF US USE THAT EXCUSE!!!
> >
> > Yes, I am very sure Libby would like this discussion to end, it's
> > getting too touchy, and she's out of quick answers and Amy, her
best
> > friend who is also a member of ILA, and owns MFI animals, just
had a
> > brief moment of oversight on this whole thing RIGHT, does it not
seem
> > some or most of this should not have been up to a review
committee?
> > And before becoming a done deal, been put on the ballot? Oh, then
they
> > would have had to get more of their friends to put their names on
> > these decisions that are in our best interests? (Are we taking
turns
> > with our oversights, and whoops moments? And that makes it OK?)
> >
> > Let's look at the nominating committee? Yes, Rick Horn is part of
> > that, and it's no surprise! Why do they come up with so few for
our
> > consideration? One or two names you know, and a few you have no
idea
> > why they are running AOBA has a form that always went out with
your
> > renewal on the reverse side it asked WOULD YOU BE INTERESTED and
it
> > listed committees, volunteering why are these names NEVER
contacted?
> > We have filled them in, and so have many other farms and not one
ever
> > got contacted to participate! Why are we not drawing talent from
the
> > vast membership? BECAUSE they cannot control newcomers or
EXPERIENCED
> > BREEDERS WHO IS NOT IN THEIR CLICK? Unless they choose them from
their
> > group of their circle! This same game applies to ARI also, how
else
> > could THEY control both!
> >
> > Why and HOW did a committee (WHO ARE THESE THIEVES) agree to take
away
> > the purchase rights of the database with addresses and emails,
which
> > had always been available to every member and only, give it to
> > benefactors? This is a change in status and this keeps the little
guy
> > from ever doing a mailing or their own blast to the membership
unless
> > you are a benefactor or PAY MORE to have them send out a blast
that
> > may be incomplete since you have no way to check where all it did
or
> > did not get sent?
> >
> > There are many more examples of these dirty games and they all
have to
> > do with pulling the wool over the new kids face.and keeping the
> > competition to the few no less!!! No different then when they
changed
> > that each farm could enter three animals per class from the
original
> > two, we certainly do not think it was the small breeders wish,
but
> > Greg Mecklem got it done, and Linda Barry Walker left the
committee,
> > and the industry has not had another day of her time or talent!
There
> > is a gal who has been down every road, and found a safe crossing.
When
> > it got to where she would be advantaged over her clients (The
small
> > guys), she no longer had any reason to play with them. Rather
then add
> > the number of entries per class, how about we limit the number of
> > animals any one breeder could bring to a show, instead they hide
> > behind others, how else can a large farm get dozens of pens,
right by
> > the ring? You and I can only buy a limited number of pens? How do
they
> > get 50+ into 4, or 5, or 6 pens? They do not; they buy pens under
> > their OTHER registered names and dominate the shows! Magical and
TNT
> > Farms, and buy multiple other pens! But that makes it OK? NOT,
it's
> > shooting the loopholes, and when that's not enough, they put more
> > animals under / into farm pens bought by other farms, as personal
> > favors. Could we change the way they play? Yes, but they would
then
> > just have them shown by others with permission to show slips, and
> > still wind up dominating the show by their registered name!
Unless we
> > put a stop to it, things will only get worse, and they do have
judges
> > as friends and silent partners, and so where does it stop. Unless
we
> > go to show handlers, by drawing, and no owners show their own
animals
> > there will never be a way to keep it clean! Just like horses, the
> > judges know who needs to win for them to be hired to judge!
> >
> > Too bad there are so few who have done the homework and who read
the
> > map! You are right on target, you do not need to be a member to
be
> > affected, you only need to have one alpaca, and the value of it
will
> > be changed by what this INDUSTRY does!! And if we let the over
funded
> > trust babies, and independently wealthy run this like their game,
no
> > one else will have any security at the end of the day. For these
folks
> > it's not about money, it's the power of the play, they care not
if
> > anyone else is happy, or fulfilled in what they do, only that
they
> > have others looking up to them and all their toys, and MORE POWER
AND
> > CONTROL!
> >
> > I would think it would not be a bad idea for every member of
alpaca
> > talk and the other groups to invite other alpaca site members to
join
> > your list, and to invite the newbies to contact a small ranch for
a
> > clear objective. Yes, it may blow off a few sales for us all, but
we
> > will keep a clean shirt, and know we have truly informed those we
can.
> > With any luck it will cost the big boys a few sales as well!
Rather
> > then let them continue with their line of BS.
> >
> > Be happy you are down to the last three, most of the rest of us
still
> > have way too much on the table, and as it looks more of us will
be
> > looking to leave then to stay. I am sure there are many others,
who
> > like us are burned out on the crap, and tired of the BS.
> >
> > Thanks for your energy!
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Message posts are the opinion of individuals posting and are not necessarily endorsed or approved by Yahoo! or the moderator of this group. The purpose of this discussion group is to ensure that all points of view can be aired. It is the responsbilty of all individuals who post to treat others with respect and civility.
