{"id":11006,"date":"2016-06-10T08:49:13","date_gmt":"2016-06-10T15:49:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/plantingseedsblog.cdfa.ca.gov\/wordpress\/?p=11006"},"modified":"2019-07-17T15:36:05","modified_gmt":"2019-07-17T22:36:05","slug":"sheep-shearing-school-prepares-students-for-gainful-employment-from-the-university-of-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/plantingseedsblog.cdfa.ca.gov\/wordpress\/index.php\/2016\/06\/10\/sheep-shearing-school-prepares-students-for-gainful-employment-from-the-university-of-california\/","title":{"rendered":"Sheep shearing school prepares students for gainful employment – from the University of California"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Sheep\"<\/a><\/p>\n

By Jeannette E. Warnert<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sheep shearing is like a dance. It requires strength, flexibility, a tender touch and the right moves. Once mastered, the skill can open the door to gratifying and high-paying seasonal work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tell my sheep shearing students, \u2018You’ll never be unemployed,’\u201d said John Harper<\/a>, UC Cooperative Extension livestock and natural resources advisor in Mendocino County. \u201cAnd you’ll never be poor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shearers can earn $50 to $100 per hour, Harper said, and can start a business with a $3,000 investment in equipment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they can learn how to shear sheep correctly, it’s a great little business to get into,\u201d Harper said.<\/p>\n

The need for skilled sheep shearers in California and other parts of the nation has prompted the UC Hopland Research and Extension Center<\/a> to host an annual sheep shearing school, where a diversity of students are introduced to a trade that allows them to work with their hands, out-of-doors, when and where they want.<\/p>\n

Although sheep shearing is traditionally a male occupation, Harper said he encourages women to take the course.<\/p>\n

\u201cWomen have a lower center of gravity. Strength is important, but so is hip rotation,\u201d Harper said. \u201cThe sheep’s skin is very loose and the blades are pretty powerful. The female students tend to be more cautious and we see fewer nicks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beatrice Thomas, 41, is a typical student.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came to sheep shearing by way of dance and the arts,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n

She left her Bay Area desk job about a year ago. \u201cThere wasn’t a mind-body connection,\u201d she said. \u201cForty hours at a desk, my body was aching.\u201d<\/p>\n

But sheep shearing was a completely different experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis doesn’t hurt the same way as sitting at a desk, because it feels vital. Every move is important. There’s a dance. There’s a rhythm. My whole spirit lit up,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n

The 5,200-acre Hopland Research and Extension Center is home to a flock of about 1,000 sheep, which provide opportunities for scientists to study their role in land management. They also serve as a ready supply of animals for prospective new shearers to learn the craft.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe teach students how to shear in a way that ensures the welfare of the sheep, produces a quality wool clip, and keeps the shearers safe,\u201d Harper said. \u201cWe received a grant from the National Sheep Industry Improvement Association to purchase new shearing equipment. This allows the students to learn with brand new, state-of-the-art combs, cutters and hand pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n

The annual sheep shearing school at Hopland is the only intensive five-day course in the United States, said Hannah Bird<\/a>, community educator at the research center.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt brings people from all over the country and sometimes outside the country,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The week together helps build camaraderies amongst the newly trained sheep shearers. Hopland sheep shearing alums have created a Facebook group to stay in touch and refer jobs to one another. Several previous students are making a living a sheep shearing. One is Stephanie Wilkes, a 2013 sheep shearing student who now runs her own sheep shearing business from San Francisco.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople always ask me, \u2018How can you run a sheep shearing business and live in the city?’\u201d Wilkes said. \u201cBut there are actually a lot of sheep in the Bay Area, in Marin County, Solano and Yolo. I shear in Hayward and as far south as Gilroy. I go can go anywhere a car can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lead instructor Gary Vorderbruggen said a key to sheep shearing success is a calm demeanor.<\/p>\n

\u201cSheep don’t need to be riled up. If you can be calm, and be safe, you will gain speed with experience,\u201d Vorderbruggen said. \u201cIt’s no different than a dance. It’s like a square dance, except you’re doing that square dance with an unwilling partner.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joining Harper and Vorderbruggen instructing the class in 2016 was Trevor Hollenback. He was first exposed to sheep shearing when visiting a friend’s sheep farm in Austria.<\/p>\n

\u201cI realized this is a really skilled craft. It’s amazing,\u201d Hollenback said.<\/p>\n

Hollenback quit his desk job and traveled to New Zealand for training, then returned to the Austrian farm for more practice. Back in the United States, Hollenback opened his own business and began shearing sheep in California and Arizona. He was tapped to be the instructor at Hopland because of his formal training in New Zealand.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the most important things that the students can take away from this course is going to be sheep handling, how to move the sheep around, how to control the sheep on the board,\u201d Hollenback said. \u201cA lot of students came here with very little background in livestock. Footwork, positions, getting the pattern down \u2013 all the finer points in shearing \u2013 that comes with practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

The week-long sheep shearing school at Hopland will be held again in spring 2017. The class typically fills up within two hours of opening registration. Register interest on the UCCE Mendocino website<\/a> to be notified when registration opens.<\/p>\n

Link to blog post<\/a><\/p>\n

View scenes from Sheep Shearing School in the video below:<\/p>\n