More on Shearing
I was going to take a few more photo’s to show you a bit more about our shearing shed. However, I’ve found a few trawling the net that work just as well to give you the idea (and save me having to go up there again - it always stinks for the first few minutes when you’re in there, especially close to shearing time).
SHEARING EQUIPMENT
This image shows a close up of what a shearers handpiece today might look like. There are a number of different brands which vary slightly but the overall idea is the same. The vertical section clips into the shearing plant in the shed and the shearer holds onto it behind the comb on the section shown as horizontal in this image. Most shearers use a “rug” to cover the metal section they hold onto. That makes it more comfortable to hold and also reduces the amount of heat the hand is exposed to (the metal can get rather hot). The “rugs” I’ve seen look a little bit like a stubby holder type fabric.
* image courtesy of www.shearoutback.com.au
This image shows what shearing blades used to look like before sheds were connected to electricity. They’re still used in some places but are not very common anymore.
* image courtesy of www.leaderproducts.com.au
The skill involved in shearing a sheep quickly with a set of these must have been absolutely amazing.
SORTING THE WOOL
In my post yesterday I posted a photo of farmboy and his brother loading wool into the wool press. This is what the bales look like when they come out of the wool press.
* image courtesy of www.woolisbest.com
These are not our bales so the name on them has nothing to do with me (just an image I flogged borrowed used without permission with acknowledgement).
You might be able to see “AAAM” stencilled to the side of the bales (you can click on images for a larger view). This is pronounced “3AM” (just like the time) and is the mainline of wool from that propery (ie what you’ll get most of your money for).
By sorting out the “not so good” stuff from the “good stuff”, you improve the quality of your “mainline” and therefore get paid more cents per kilogram for that.
Heads and bellies - I made the comment in yesterdays post about the wool from the top of the sheep’s head and the belly being kept separate from the rest of the fleece. Both of these sections of the wool are shorter and the under-belly often gets matted and burred. Mainline wool has a minimum length it must be.
Classing wool is quite a complicated task and you are required to be registered and include your classing registration when selling wool. The margin of error allowed is quite small. Not only do you need to keep the pieces that are shorter separate but you’re only allowed a certain percentage of non-wool matter (such as dirt and grass) in with the bale.
Things like fleeces with a break in the wool (caused by illness or some other stress in the sheep as the wool is growing) need to be kept separate and sometimes you’ll get a sheep with a different wool micron (don’t ask me to explain that one!) so that gets separated from the mainline as well.
HOW MUCH DO SHEARERS EARN?
Shearers are paid per sheep they shear rather than an hourly rate. This means that the faster you shear, the more you earn.
The current rate we pay a shearer per sheep is $2.50
Now a learner shearer “officially” gets off their “L-plates” at 100 sheep in a day. So you could say the “base rate” for a shearer is around $250 per day.
An “average” shearer is likely to fall in the 125-200 sheep per day so around $300-$500 a day.
A “good” shearer can shear 200+ per day (some will get up around 250-300 but there are a lot of factors that will determine how fast the sheep are shorn). So anywhere from $500 - $600+ in a day.
Sounds alright doesn’t it? Bear in mind that this is a “before tax” rate AND shearers don’t always get paid superannuation (it depends how much they earn in a particular shed as under a certain figure in a month employers don’t *have* to pay superannuation). You also don’t get paid holidays, sick leave or public holidays. And most shearers shear for a maximum of 6-months of the year (picking up other seasonal type work in between).
Most shearers leave home around 6-6.30AM and get home around 6-6.30PM and then have to spend around an hour grinding their cutting gear ready for the next day. It’s certainly not a job for the faint hearted.
Next Instalment (if you’re not all totally bored already?): Feeding the Shearers
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so what shoes do they wear…. bwaaaaa haaaaaa haaaaaaa
Seriously, really interesting post babe. I had no idea about any of it. Just don’t sell any of that wool to the ugg boot factories OK?
Somehow I don’t think you’d like what shoes the shearers wear Kell. But I have a picture for you in my next post. As for selling wool for ugg boots well…. 1. I like Ugg Boots and 2. Beggars can’t be choosers!
what’s superannuation?
ooo food! tell us about food! btw, I have my generic post ready to go. I’ll post it tomorrow morning before I head off to work
Supperanuation is a payment employers make on behalf of employees that goes directly to a retirement type fund. Writing the food post as we speak. I have postponed the Generic post until after Easter but it won’t matter if you go ahead and post yours whenever as I’ll link to it as part of my post. Make sure you send me the link.
To say that shearing is not a job for the faint hearted is an understatement. Watching those guys work is just amazing. They earn every cent that they get and then some.
You are bringing back lots of memories for me too - mostly from a 7000 acre sheep property on the NSW/VIc boarder that we stayed at a few times. Keep it coming Lightening
Glad you’re enjoying my sharing Gemisht.
I’m trialling a new type of responses to comments. I like the layout of being able to respond directly to each comment like this. However, a couple of things have occured to me.
1. Anyone subscribed to comments won’t know I’ve responded (as it’s edited into their original comment)
2. I can’t make a general “thanks” type response to several comments at once.
I may end up using a combination of the two or go back to responding in a new comment box depending on what people think.
The comments are all about you guys so be sure to tell me what you think.
Ahh so it’s like the CPP — Canadian Pension Plan. Makes sense now.
Easy fix Lightening, just don’t tell Kelley that you sold the wool for Ugh boots - except I’m sure that to make ugh boots you need the skin as well as the wool so then its bye bye lamby.
Oh and work on the basis of what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her
Oh that has brought back memories of my childhood on 500 square miles of sheep country. I could smell that “Sheep smell” as I read your posts.
very interesting Lightening -a few of my father in laws farms have had old shearing sheds. The last one doesn’t look like it has been used for 10 years.
They still had a bit of gear around and pens and stuff.
One of the last farms even had a wool press still. FIL only grazes cattle not sheep.
I digress …I was reading a book over Easter called “Matilda’s Last Waltz” and it was had a lot in it shearing and the outback.I learnt a lot.
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