Looking for Employment? Sheep Industry Needs Qualified Shearers

SAN ANGELO, TX – As current claims for unemployment hover around 7 percent, nationwide, one industry is facing a major shortage of workers. According to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, the sheep industry is in dire need of sheep shearers.

Though AgriLife Extension provides annual training seminars, their event in 2021 is expected to draw record attendance. Dr. Reid Redden, an AgriLife Extension Sheep & Goat Specialist explains that “shearing is hard work and learning to shear is no exception. To become proficient at this trade, it requires commitment and dedication.”

Applications for the annual Sheep Shearing School (January 4 through January 7) are due by December 1 and those interested in attending will need to classify as either a beginner or advanced shearer (capable of shearing 50 or more a day), provide a short paragraph as to why they are interested in attending, and pay either $150 for in-state tuition or $250 if attending from out of state.

Redden warns that although there is a nationwide shortage of shearers, this school is intended to train those interested in shearing “several hundred or thousands of sheep annually.” There’s more than 5.2 million head of sheep and lambs in the U.S. today and around 25 percent of the flocks are in the top two producing states of Texas and California.

Find more information here: https://agrilife.org/sheepandgoat/registration/
(SOURCE: All Ag News)