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Mike Safley was born and raised in Eugene, Oregon. He attended the University of Oregon and served in the
U.S. Navy Seabees during the Vietnam War. In 1984, prior to purchasing his first five alpacas with his father
Ken Safley, Mike was a builder and real estate investor.
Mike was elected president of the fledgling Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association (AOBA) in 1990. While serving
as president of AOBA, he conceived of and became the first editor for Alpacas Magazine. Mike was also co-chairman
of the first AOBA alpaca show committee and on the first alpaca marketing committee.
As a member of the marketing committee, Mike wrote several brochures for the alpaca industry—Alpacas, The World’s
Finest Livestock Investment, Fleece to Fashion, and The Alpaca Color Brochure—all of which continue to be printed
by AOBA today. Mike wrote and produced the first alpaca marketing video, sponsored by AOBA, and he established the
first alpaca advertising co-op, pioneering the breeder’s guide model still in use by AOBA today. With his wife,
Julie Safley, Mike wrote and produced AOBA’s Alpaca Coloring Book.
An AOBA accredited, senior alpaca judge, Mike has judged alpaca shows in the United States, Peru, Australia, and
Canada. As a member of AOBA’s original show committee, he helped author the first alpaca show rules used in the
United States and Canada. Together with Celebrity Sales, he was an initial organizer of the All American Alpaca
Futurity, which awarded the first championship ribbons to alpacas in the United States.
Mike was a member of the original Alpaca Registry Screening Committee (ARSC), was elected to the Alpaca Registry,
Inc. (ARI) Board of Directors in 1995, and was elected president of the registry in 1997. Mike was also a driving
force behind the levy of screening fees for imported alpacas, which resulted in the collection of several million
dollars in revenue that was used by the alpaca industry for marketing and research. In 1998, he authored the
amendment to the alpaca registry’s policies and procedures that resulted in the closure of the registry.
Beginning in 1992, Mike made over forty trips to Peru, selecting alpacas, visiting alpaca producers and processors,
researching his first book, Alpacas: Synthesis of a Miracle, and establishing the Quechua Benefit charity with Dr.
Mario Pedroza, which provides dental assistance, school supplies, and clothing to the alpaca shepherds of Peru’s
high sierra.
Mike and Julie continue to reside at Northwest Alpacas Ranch with their four children and 250 alpacas. You can
reach Mike and Julie at their website: www.alpacas.com or at Northwest Alpacas Ranch, 11785 SW River Road,
Hillsboro, Oregon, 97123.
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