There is a shortage of sheep shearers in Manitoba and a small group of people in the province are trying to change that.
The shearing community in Manitoba now includes only eight people, and Bethan Lewis, a 24-year-old farmer and sheep shearer from Alexander, is among that determined group eager to boost the ranks of their trade.
A recent example of efforts to raise the profile was an all-female shearing demonstration at Manitoba Ag Ex in Brandon last month. Kendra Unrau, Stacey Rosvold and Chloe Bermejo joined Lewis on stage as part of the Manitoba Sheep Association’s lamb show. The goal was to show the basics.
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“We just wanted to show people what shearing is,” says Lewis.
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The foursome were joined by Russell Eddy (another shearer and Bermejo’s husband), who provided play-by-play commentary for the audience.
“We cheered and laughed,” Lewis says. “Stacey and I shared three sheep, and Kendra and Chloe sheared two, and then I did one right at the end, just because there was an extra one in the pen.”
Lewis said it was nothing like the wild speed-shearing demos that go viral on YouTube. That probably would have intimidated prospective shearers.
“We just wanted to show people it can be done,” she says.
They chose to make it an all-women event because shearing is a male-dominated field.
“If you look up international shearing, it’s almost always guys doing it,” she says.
While that may be true internationally, Manitoba punches above its weight in gender equality in the trade.
“Manitoba actually has more female shearers than male shearers,” says Lewis.
Pauline Bolay of Fairfield, Man., is a verifiable celebrity in sheep shearing circles. In 2019, she broke and now holds the female record for “strong wool lamb” shearing, by shearing 510 lambs in eight hours. Bolay will be on Team Canada at the prestigious Golden Shears Championship in Scotland next year.
While the women who took part in the demonstration made shearing look easy, Lewis says it takes a lot of practice to reach that level. She compares it to learning the steps of an intricate dance with a twitchy and uncooperative dance partner and a buzzing clipper in one hand.
Positioning of the shearer’s feet and the sheep’s feet are key so the animal doesn’t squirm out of grasp and run away.
“Once you’ve learned it, you’re good, but it takes a lot of learning.”
Lewis began shearing about eight years ago, when she was 16. She learned the ropes from her father, who was a sheep farmer and shearer in the United Kingdom before moving to Canada 26 years ago. He resumed sheep farming in this country and has a farm with 250 sheep.
About five years ago, her father broke a couple of ribs, which took him out of shearing action. Lewis rose to the occasion and used her newfound skills to help out at the family farm. After that, it stuck with her.
She sheared about 9,000 sheep last year and says she barely got through what needed to be done. This year she’s done 7,000 so far and she’s not done yet.
Now she wants people to know that sheep shearing can offer a good income and there’s no shortage of work.
“I paid my way through college with shearing,” says Lewis.
Chloe, her husband Russell and Lewis are going to Melville, Sask., to teach a beginners’ course in shearing in January.
“We’re trying to get people to understand that anybody can do it,” she says. “If you want to learn how to shear, we’ll teach you.”
