Posts Tagged: sheep
Software developer quits job to shear sheep
"This year, I was on a ranch almost every weekend from January through June," Wilke said. "I got pretty burnt out."
With skills honed in three five-day sessions of training at the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources facility in Hopland, she has found she can earn between $50 and $100 per hour shearing sheep.
John Harper, UC ANR Cooperative Extension advisor in Mendocino County, has hosted the sheep shearing school for 20 years and has 40 years experience with sheep shearing.
"It is the longest running shearing school in California and I believe it's currently the only one," Harper said.
The training school started with instructors imported from New Zealand. When the cost of travel became prohibitive, Harper brought in Mike McWilliams from Oregon. Later Gary Vorderbruggen, who trained under McWilliams, became the chief instructor.
The five-day course will be offered again in 2016 with classroom instruction, demonstrations and hands-on experience. Beginning and experienced shearers have the opportunity for one-on-one training. Class dates have not yet been decided. Registration information will be posted on the Sheep Shearing School webpage.
View a PDF version of the Sheep Magazine article by clicking the link below.
Sheep Magazine article
UC ANR workshop inspires economic development
The UC Hopland Research and Extension Center, a UC ANR facility, hosts an annual Sheep Shearing School, thought to be the only one in California. The students take a five-day hands-on course to learn how to maintain a quality wool clip and minimize stress to the sheep.
"It's like learning to square dance," said instructor Gary Vorderbruggen. "Except you're learning to dance with an unwilling partner."
UC ANR Cooperative Extension natural resources advisor John Harper facilitates the school in Mendocino County.
"I always say, you'll never be unemployed if you learn how to shear," Harper said. "There's never enough shearers."
One local resident who attended Sheep Shearing School twice, Matthew Gilbert, was inspired to open a local wool processing enterprise.
"It's the perfect fit for this county, because it will provide jobs for this rural economy," Harper said.
Many wineries are using sheep to clip cover crops because the sheep can't get up on their hind legs like goats to reach the foliage. Even as more sheep are working local vineyards, "we're losing the infrastructure to support the (sheep) industry," Harper said.
Last week, the Ukiah Planning Commission unanimously approved permits for Gilbert to operate a wool mill and food truck on his property, said another article in the Ukiah Daily Journal. The food truck will help supplement the family's income for the first couple of years until the mill becomes established.
Further enhancing local interest in the Mendocino County sheep industry, the Hopland REC hosts a Barn to Yarn event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 23. Visitors will see shearing, spinning and weaving demonstrations and learn how to class wool and dye it using Kool-Aid. Admission is $5 per person, and children under 12 are free. The Hopland REC is at 4070 University Rd., Hopland. For more information, call Hannah Bird at (707) 744-1424, ext. 105.
Mozilla information scientist finds her passion at UC Sheep Shearing School
“It's like a dance,” she says. “Once you have it right (and I mean, really have it), suddenly the whole method makes sense. You expend much less energy. You're controlling the sheep with your legs, which leaves your hands free, one to hold the shearing hand piece and the other to smooth out the skin so you don't nick the sheep.”
Since there are 400 ewes whose fleeces must be shorn before the hot summer months, that's important for her and her classmates.
The University of California Cooperative Extension Sheep Shearing School is the only program of its kind in California. It has been run in Mendocino County since at least 1990, but in 2009, it moved to the Hopland Research and Extension Center south of Ukiah.
Students are taught the New Zealand method of shearing, where the entire fleece is cut from the sheep as a single unit so it can be sorted and graded according to micron count. The method is designed to be comfortable for both shearer and sheep.
John Harper, UCCE natural resources advisor for Mendocino County, has been running this program for more than 20 years. Although these sheep weigh enough to make handling them a workout, he says that hip flexibility is more important than upper body strength. Since this is something women tend to have more of than men, they are often successful students.
More than 250 students from across the western U.S. as well as Canada and Mexico and have graduated from the program. Many come back year after year to practice under supervision, but also to connect with each other.
This year, a wool grading section was added to the course, taught by Ron Cole and Rodney Kott. Sheep have recently been bred much more for meat than wool in the region but there is a growing demand for high quality fleeces. The finest merino sheep do not do well in damp North Coast conditions but thrive in the dryer Central Valley and foothills, and there is a need for trained graders. Only 3 percent of California's 5 million pounds of wool is currently being processed within the state, and yet California remains a net importer of wool goods, while falling second only to Texas in sheep production. California fleeces are either composted or sent to China for processing, something another graduate of Shearing Class, Matt Gilbert, is keen to avoid.
“There used to be lots of mills in the U.S. to process our wool,” he said. “Now there are hardly any. That's why I wanted to start my own mill to process fine wool. We will be selling to handspinners and knitters and to commercial textile manufacturers. It's about trying to keep the product of this place in the region.”
Gilbert was inspired by the Fibershed movement started by Rebecca Burgess in 2010. Drawing on the locavore movement, Burgess committed to clothing herself for an entire year with textiles grown and produced within 200 miles of her house in Fairfax. The movement is gaining adherents across the country and beyond.
Wilkes says the Fibershed movement is what got her interested in learning to shear, too.
“Eight years ago, I walked into a yarn store in San Francisco and asked where the local yarn was. I knew California was a major producer of wool. I was told there wasn't any. I was curious about why, and became involved with Fibershed and attended their first symposium in October 2012. During a panel involving shearers [one of whom was Matt Gilbert], I found out that small flock owners had a hard time finding people to shear their sheep. That got me thinking that I could learn to do the work," Wilkes said.
The UC certificate really means something to ranchers and farmers. As a woman who provided a Shearing School scholarship put it recently, “When I see UC Certification, I know I'm not going to have butchered animals.”
Harper explains that the North Coast sheep herding trends have changed over time – from large producers to smaller flocks – but now there is a move back to some larger flocks, driven in part by the Vines and Ovines project established in Mendocino County by UCCE advisor Morgan Doran with help from UCCE advisor Roger Ingram of Placer and Nevada counties, UCCE advisor Stephanie Larson of Sonoma County and UCCE specialist emeritus Mel George. The sheep were subjected to aversion training so they would not eat grape leaves. Now they browse through vineyards, conducting weed control and fertilization without harming the vines. One vintner, Clay Shannon, has 1,500 ewes. He pairs premium lamb with his wines in sales to niche markets. The idea is catching on.
Meanwhile, Wilkes is shearing sheep across Northern California on weekends or before work.
“I can't express how much Shearing School means to me and to California,” she says. “There's almost no way to break into agriculture if you didn't inherit land here. I found my calling late ... I love developing open source software and working on information privacy, but shearing is my passion. Shearing School is one of the few feasible avenues into agriculture in the state.”
Wool classing.
Stephany Wilkes at the Sonoma County Fair.
‘Sheeping off’ alfalfa fields adds value for sheep producers and growers
You may wonder about this practice of ‘sheeping off’ or grazing alfalfa fields, as sheep are most associated with rangelands in the coastal foothills or the Sierras. Basque sheepherders have historically managed sheep grazing in the Sierra Nevada mountains, which is a legacy that still remains in arborglyphs, or drawings in aspen trees, and in current grazing leases on federal lands. But sheep grazing in alfalfa fields has also been a long-time practice, probably for as long as there’s been alfalfa in our valley.
Alfalfa growers also benefit from sheep grazing in their fields during wintertime when the alfalfa is dormant. Alfalfa is a perennial crop which means that the root system remains alive below ground throughout the year even when the stems and leaves die during winter dormancy. Sheep feed on winter weeds, helping to control them in both seedling as well as established alfalfa stands that may negate the need for an herbicide treatment. Sheep grazing also reduces the alfalfa vegetation that dies back in winter, producing cleaner hay, the following spring. Sheep also help control weevil insect pests by feeding on older alfalfa stems, where the weevils lay eggs. This practice may help reduce weevil pressure and feeding damage to the first alfalfa cutting when weevils are actively feeding, a positive benefit, especially for organic growers.
The correct timing of alfalfa grazing is especially important for sheep producers since incorrect timing can result in a potentially lethal condition in sheep called bloat. Bloat occurs when a ruminant, such as a sheep, consumes too much fresh alfalfa with a high concentration of leaf proteins called saponins. When saponins are digested in the rumen, they create foam that prevents the sheep from burping up gases that are a produced from digestion in their stomach. Grazing too early in the fall or too late in the spring increases the risk of bloat, which is another reason why alfalfa grazing is done during the winter months.
Studies in California have documented economic benefits for both sheep producers and alfalfa growers. Sheep producers benefit from high quality feed during wintertime. Alfalfa growers benefit from weed and weevil control, as well as cleaner hay that can result in higher quality forage compared to non-grazed alfalfa stands.
Next time you come upon an alfalfa field full of sheep, know that they’re there for a purpose, providing feed for sheep and weevil and weed control for the alfalfa, in an environmentally sound manner. And, see if you can get in a game of ‘I Spy’ and find those Great Pyrenees dogs.
For more information, see the articles listed below:
- Bell, C.E. and J.N. Guerrero. 1997. Sheep grazing effectively controls weeds in seedling alfalfa. California Agriculture 51(2):19-23. http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/repositoryfiles/ca5102p19-67649.pdf
- Doran, M.P., L. Hazeltine, R.F. Long and D.H. Putnam. 2010. Strategic grazing of alfalfa by sheep in California’s Central Valley. Technical Report. http://cesolano.ucanr.edu/files/63758.pdf
- Pelton, R.E., V.L. Marble, W.E. Wildman and G. Peterson. 1988. Fall grazing by sheep on alfalfa. California Agriculture 42(5): 4-5. http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/repositoryfiles/ca4205p4-68804.pdf
'Sheeping off' an alfalfa field.
Alfalfa
Ultra-short tail docking gets a withering glare
In the coming months, UC veterinarians and animal-welfare experts hope to develop new tail-docking recommendations for sheep being raised by 4-H youth, the Fresno Bee reported on Dec. 22. Currently, many sheep meant for county fair competition suffer "ultra-short tail docking," the story said. The practice is not looked upon favorably by UC Davis Cooperative Extension animal welfare specialist Carolyn Stull.
"This is purely a cosmetic procedure and does not advance the welfare of the animal," Stull was quoted. "We really want to focus on what is best for the animal's welfare. And we know that ultra-short tail docking is not."
Ultra-short tail docking means the tail is cut off where it connects to the animal's rump, not leaving the inch or two typically remaining after commercial tail docking. It is designed to give the animal a stronger, more muscular appearance. Veterinarians say it can cause rectal prolapse, but one sheep breeder told Bee reporter Robert Rodriguez that show judges like the look.
The article said 4-H program leaders support the effort for a new tail-docking policy.
"Many of our 4-H members today purchase their lambs already docked, so we want them to know what to look for," the story quoted Steve Dasher, the 4-H Youth Development advisor in San Diego County. "Also, for those that raise their own lambs, we want them to implement those practices that are approved by the experts."
Jim Sullins, director of UC Cooperative Extension in Tulare County, said the 4-H program needs to do a better job of educating students and their families about the risks of ultra-short tail docking. But it will not be easy.
"This is a very competitive environment, and if a procedure is being rewarded by the judges, then that procedure is going to continue," Sullins was quoted.
Coincidentally, on Jan. 1 a new law went into effect that banned docking dairy cow tails. The law, which was initially mocked by Gov. Schwarzenegger last year when lawmakers were struggling to balance the state budget, makes California the first state to ban what the Associated Press called a "painful practice." The dairy industry was not in favor of the law's passage, contending that cutting off cow tails to prevent them from slinging manure was already uncommon.
Last year, the UCCE dairy farm advisor for Tulare County, Noelia Silva-del-Río, surveyed San Joaquin and Sacramento valley dairies to document the prevalence of cow tail docking. She reported in her October 2009 California Dairy Newsletter that 286,949 cows - 7.4 percent of cows in the survey - had docked tails.
Science-based animal care guidelines are available on the UC Davis Veterinary Medicine Extension Web page dedicated to animal welfare.
An undated photo of a show ram with no visible tail.