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Glenhope is situated on 60 hectares of land, 4 kms from Armidale in Northern NSW, Australia. With a combination of native and improved pastures, mild summers and cool winters the conditions are perfect for breeding Alpacas.
OUR ENTERPRISE
Our enterprise is a full time farming operation with the objective of producing superior quality animals with a good size and strong frames exhibiting the SRS® characteristics of density, length, fineness, softness and lustre that are measurably above the industry standard.
Show Success
About Us The owners Bronwyn and David Mitchell both grew up on sheep/cattle properties and have many years of animal and husbandry experience. Bronwyn’s previous role as nurse/midwife/educator has been an excellent background for her present role of hands on farm management. David has a wealth of rural experience that is invaluable in the growth and maintenance of our business. He also works full time in education. |
Armidale is a world renowned area for producing fine wool sheep and we are continuing this tradition producing consistent fine fleeced alpaca. We plan to grow and maintain our herd at 150 elite white breeding females. We are well on the way to achieving this goal with dramatic genetic gain evident in each generation of animals. Our fleece results show 98% of our animals producing superfine fleeces on their first shearing with many retaining fineness as older animals. Our heaviest fleece weights are presently 5 1/2kgs to 6kgs. Many of our fleeces were included in the super fine and reserve bales that gained premium prices at Australian Alpaca Fleece Limited. We are registered in the AGE (Across-Herd Genetic Evaluation programme) and keep comprehensive records of animal and fleece data. We have samples of each animal’s fleece collected over the lifespan of each animal. This is a valuable record of fleece progress. We also keep each fleece of all stud males that we offer for sale.
Dr Jim Watts, a research veterinarian, provides consultancy services to Glenhope to direct our breeding programme according to the SRS® breeding system. This scientific approach to breeding removes the guesswork as it provides measurable outcomes of genetic and fibre production, enabling us to breed a new generation type of alpaca. See the 
Our alpacas are truly “Outstanding in their field” and have gained many accolades in the show ring. These include many championships and supreme championships at Royal and Regional shows and we have received placement at National level in both fleece and animal classes.