WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Indiana Sheep and Wool Market Development Program is sponsoring a shearing school, hosted by the Indiana Sheep Association (ISA), on Saturday, Feb. 18.
The statewide workshop will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET at Purdue University’s Sheep Center, 5480 ASREC Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47906. Check-in will begin at 8:30 a.m.
The workshop is open to anyone, regardless of experience level, interested in learning the skills and methods required to successfully shear a sheep. All instructors are experienced shearers, including organizer and master shearer Steve Kennedy, whose family members have been instructors for shearing schools going back to Kennedy’s grandfather.
A registration fee of $50 will cover the workshop cost, lunch and required shearing equipment, though participants are encouraged to bring their own equipment if they have it.
Registration forms, available at the ISA website, must be mailed to ISA Executive Director Bob Benson at 3506 Heathcliff Court, Westfield, IN 46074. The completed registration form and fee must be received by Feb. 1. The class is limited to 20 participants, and all attendees must sign a liability waiver as part of the registration.
“There is a continuous need for young and new sheep shearers as the older generations retire,” said Gerald Kelly, manager of the Purdue Sheep Center and shearing school co-organizer. “Producers and 4-H’ers benefit from being able to shear their own sheep efficiently instead of trying to find a professional shearer. The Purdue folks are happy to help the industry just as we have for the last 150 years.”
The Indiana Sheep and Wool Market Development Program was created to support educational, promotional and research efforts involving sheep in Indiana. Funds for the council are collected from the sale of all sheep in Indiana (0.5% of the net market price of each sheep sold). All funds collected by stockyards, sale managers, producers and others should be sent to the council’s business office at Purdue. More information is on the program’s website at https://indianasheep.com/checkoff.php.
Writer: Emma O’Brien, executive@indianasheep.com
Source: Gerald Kelly, gkelly@purdue.edu
Agricultural Communications: 765-494-8415;
Maureen Manier, Department Head, mmanier@purdue.edu
