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Joanna Najbar

Joanna – passion, knowledge and experience

For over fifteen years, together with her husband, Paweł, she has run the Coniraya farm – a place created out of love for animals and nature. Over ten years ago, alpacas joined its ranks, quickly becoming not only a part of everyday life but also Joanna’s great passion and the beginning of a conscious breeding journey.

Since 2013, she has been continually expanding her knowledge of alpaca breeding, fleece quality, and herd health by participating in nearly thirty courses and training sessions around the world – including in the United States, Great Britain, Germany, Norway, Austria, and Peru.

She built her breeding career under the guidance of the world’s top experts, participating in, among others, intensive, seventeen-day Alpaca Breeder Education and Advanced Alpaca Breeder Education courses led by Amanda VandenBosch, one of the most recognized figures in the international alpaca breeding community.

However, she did not limit herself solely to breeding issues – she also systematically expanded her knowledge during numerous veterinary courses and conferences in Europe and the United States, combining the perspective of a breeder with a scientific approach.

For several years, she has been sharing her experience with others by organizing courses and seminars on alpaca breeding, aimed at both beginners and breeders who want to develop their herds in a conscious and responsible manner.

Her professionalism has also been appreciated by the academic community – since 2018, together with Dr. Agnieszka Jakubowska, she has been running a faculty on alpaca breeding and diseases for veterinary students at the University Center of Veterinary Medicine UJ–UR in Krakow.

From 2019 to 2024, she was a member of the board of the Polish Alpaca Breeders Association, and from 2022 she served as vice-president, actively supporting the development of the industry, the education of breeders, and the standardization of alpaca breeding in Poland.

She also organized numerous Fleece Shows for the Polish Association of Animal Husbandry (PZHA) and co-authored the alpaca model, developed with Arturo Peña. She has published in the trade press, including as co-author of a series of articles. „Alpacas – a new breeding species in Poland” published in the journal „Życie Weterynaryjne”.

Joanna is eager to share not only her passion but also the results of her many years of work, supporting other breeders as an advisor on alpaca breeding and husbandry. She has participated in numerous alpaca exhibitions in Europe and the United States, including as a ring steward at the National Alpaca Exhibition in the United States.

In December 2022, she began the prestigious Alpaca Owners Association (AOA) judging course, and in 2025 she obtained certification as an AOA Fleece Show judge, joining a small group of international experts authorized to evaluate the quality of alpaca fleeces according to American standards.

In 2025, in cooperation with the University of Agriculture in Krakow, she organized a nationwide scientific and practical conference „Alpacas in Questions – Learning in Practice”, which brought together scientists from the United States and Poland, veterinarians and practitioners involved in alpaca breeding.