The Indiana Sheep and Wool Market Development Program is sponsoring a shearing school, hosted by the Indiana Sheep Association (ISA), on Saturday, March 14, at Purdue University’s Sheep Unit.
The statewide workshop will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET at 5480 ASREC Lane, West Lafayette. Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m.
“There is a continuous need for new sheep shearers as the older generations retire,” said Gerald Kelly, manager of the Purdue Sheep Unit and shearing school co-organizer. “The Purdue folks are happy to help the industry, just as we have for more than 150 years.”
Anyone is welcome to register, regardless of experience level, to learn the skills and methods required to shear a sheep successfully. ISA will continue to offer an advanced class to run alongside the beginner class. The advanced class will be offered to shearers who have had instruction on shearing previously, can shear a sheep on their own and have the intent of shearing professionally. All instructors will be experienced shearers, including organizer and master shearer Matt Kennedy, whose family members have been shearing school instructors for generations.
The purpose of the advanced class is to assist promising shearers with fine-tuning techniques that will decrease stress and increase the number of sheep they can shear in a day. There will be demonstrations and hands-on practice for setting up sharpening equipment and grinders, as well as opportunities to gain experience sharpening combs and cutters.
For beginners, a registration fee of $50 will cover the cost of the workshop, lunch and required shearing equipment, though participants are encouraged to bring their own equipment if they have it. The class will be capped at 20 beginners and five advanced participants. The beginner and advanced
