Associations

	AOBA                                                                       www.alpacainfo.com The Alpaca Owners & Breeders Association (AOBA) began in 1988 and gained non-profit status in 1991.  It serves the following purposes: (1) To promote public awareness and membership appreciation of the Alpaca's unique qualities; (2) To educate the membership on the care and breeding of the Alpaca; (3) To promote the growth of the Alpaca industry as a whole; and (4) To foster the establishment of the breed outside of its native land by encouraging husbandry and breeding practices based upon, but not limited to, herd health, overall soundness, and alpaca fiber production and products. AOBA's elected seven-member Board of Directors and 14 Committees such as: Marketing, Education, Affiliates, Fiber, Government, and Show are volunteers.  The AOBA office in Nashville, Tennessee oversees national operations.  Since AOBA's formation, with 87 members and a known alpaca census of 392, its membership has grown steadily to over 4,000 members with over 160,000 registered alpacas in North America.
	ARI                                                                        www.alpacaregistry.com The Alpaca Registry, Inc., established in 1988, is a non-profit corporation with offices located in Lincoln, Nebraska.  The Registry requires DNA typing to register alpacas.  It accepts only offspring of registered alpacas that qualify by DNA matching.  ARI owns the database that houses genealogy, blood and DNA records and registered owners of North American alpacas.  It is governed by a seven-member elected Board of Directors.  ARI membership includes all owners of living, registered alpacas. Board members serve staggered terms and are collectively responsible for policies and procedures governing registrations, transfers of ownership, and the screening of unregistered, non-pedigreed alpacas.
	AFCNA                                                                         www.afcna.com Incorporated in 1998, the Alpaca Fiber Cooperative of North America, Inc. (AFCNA) is an organization of over 1,000 North American alpaca producers.  Most are small farmers, who have decided to raise alpacas to enjoy the country lifestyle and satisfaction of raising livestock.  AFCNA pools their annual shearing of alpaca fiber and benefits from processing larger volumes of fiber and market products made from alpacas, on a national level.
	ARF                                                              www.AlpacaResearchFoundation.org The Alpaca Research Trust was established by the ARI Board of Directors in December, 1997 as a Colorado, non-profit corporation for charitable, educational and scientific purposes.  In 2003, what is now known as the Alpaca Research Foundation (ARF) became an independent 501c3 non-profit organization.  Since its inception, ARF has been dedicated to funding medical and scientific research aimed at improving the health and vitality of North American alpacas.  Only research that is conducted and evaluated under the peer-review process is funded and 100% of donations to ARF go directly to alpaca research.  In addition, ARF works closely with the Morris Animal Foundation, helping to set priorities for research funding and providing monetary support for projects administered through the Llama and Alpaca division of MAF.
	Alpaca United                                                      www.AlpacaUnited.com Alpaca United is an outgrowth of the vision and commitment of AOBA (Alpaca Owners & Breeders Association), their Build A Tent organizing committee and its visionary Chairperson, Claudia Raessler, a Suri Breeder and fiber processor in North Yarmouth, ME.  Alpaca United is a textile fiber company created and funded by the North American Alpaca farmers and processors to make their fiber more competitive in world markets.  The mission is to continuously and holistically help investors increase their competitive advantage with Alpaca fiber by delivering business solutions through research, product development, branding and affinity marketing.  Alpaca United will ensure that their investors achieve their tactical and strategic business goals by unifying logistical solutions to reduce costs and seamlessly manage business processes throughout the fiber supply chain.

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