In the March, 18th issue of the “Iowa Farm Bureau Spokesman” there was a front page article titled, “For Iowa sheep producers, a good shearer is hard to find”. It was a pretty interesting article that pointed out that there are only 14 sheep shearers listed on the Iowa Sheep Industry Association’s website. Many sheep farmers are finding that 14 shearers just aren’t quite enough for the 9th-largest sheep producing state in the country. One could even venture a guess that with some people switching to hair sheep that there are less people practicing the art of shearing wool. Nevertheless, the article made me think…
I know that people across the country are always looking for ways to stay “on the farm” or even close to agriculture and maybe sheep shearing is one of the ways to make it possible. The man that was chronicled in the article said he will shear about 800 sheep in one week and travel between 1,000 and 1,500 miles! That is a lot of sheep and a lot of driving and I think it says that if you know what you are doing you could possibly add a nice cottage business on the side to your farm.
Of course if you were to think about becoming a sheep shearer there is always this to consider, “I’ve heard an eight-hour shearing day can be compared to running a marathon”. This may contribute to the reason why there aren’t as many sheep shearers and that there are a few that have semi-retired because they just can’t handle the long days and traveling anymore.
As I see it there are two things that could come out of this article. First of all, someone could learn the craft/art (that’s what it is) of shearing and and another dimension to their farm (on a part time basis). Or secondly, this could just be another reason for some farmers to switch to hair sheep … then they don’t have to shear!
I have a small flock of sheep. I just bought some equipment and will be doing my own shearing. We keep the wool for spinning, so the shearing has to be done well. Perhaps there is a future in this as a sideline to my farm? I will have to see how this year goes!
Sheep shearing used to be a big deal here, prior to the repeal of the Defense Wool Subsidy. Wyoming had zillions of sheep. It seemed impossible to me that there would ever be a day when they would be uncommon, but they are. Indeed, I was on the last gathering of sheep on my in laws place, when we brought in the last few to head to the sale barn. That’s the one and only time I’ve herded sheep.
Anyhow, in this part of the country, Australians dominated sheep shearing. There were shearers who were from here, and I still know one (now a truck driver), but a large percentage of them were Australian. One set up a very successful shearing company, but then ran into some trouble with the INS.
FWIW, it’s a very physically demanding job. Shearers are paid by the head, and speed is a real factor in their operations.
My mother has a small flock of 30. There’s a guy in Oregon that travels through the west in the spring and makes a lot of stops. I have no idea what the big sheep ranch around here with tens of thousands of sheep does for shearing before they head out into the mountains. They might get their Peruvian work visa people to do the shearing.
In the effort to diversify our farm we are expanding with a small herd of hair sheep. We have decided due to the trouble of the wool not being worth the shearing cost.
I think one problem with shearing as a sideline trade is that it’s seasonal.
As I recall, almost all shearing is done in the springtime and then nothing for the rest of the year.
I would guess most folks trying to make it on the farm already have their hands full in the spring and are too busy to add travel and more grueling work to their schedules.
I’m hoping to learn to shear my own small flock of sheep. There is an occasional shearing school here in Michigan for anyone interested. I thought about taking that up but I’m afraid it would end of like my horseshoeing venture…it was really easy work when I was doing it all day long for the month of school but doing it here and there is a lot harder because I’m not conditioned for it.
I believe that we read same article! Ian is from our church here. We went and visited his family in Missouri yesterday. His dad raises Gulf Coast sheep. Second largest, if not largest, Gulf Coast herd out there. I asked how many lambs so far- they’ve lost count and guessed about 40! His brother is also learning to be a shearer. Too bad the wool is so cheap that some are actually throwing it away! Ian is still in his early 20’s and is in very fine shape so he have plenty of steam to do shearing. He could tell you some stories!
The farm I work at just had their sheep sheared Saturday. It is so much fun to watch the sheep go from big and fluffy to small and vulnerable looking! Looking forward to reading more!
–Alex
It’s as hard to find someone to teach the craft of shearing as it is to find a shearer. My husband wanted to go to shearing school, but it has been canceled 2 times due to lack of interest.
This year we’ve decided to saddle shear our little flock ourselves. We’ll see how that goes. I’ll post the outcome on our farm blog: kissmygrassfarm.net