WATCH: Younger generation increasingly interested in sheep shearing and wool handling

By Johan Norval

There is a growing interest in school-level sheep shearing and wool handling.

According to Izak Klopper, the National Wool Growers Association’s (NWGA) shearer training manager, there is a greater awareness of this shearing sport in the Free State, as well as a renewed revival in Western Cape schools.

“It excites me because the young people are the future farmers and industry leaders who already have the opportunity at school to develop a love for wool.”

The NWGA is closely involved in the shearer training and wool handling of learners as an investment in the future.

Anri Coetzee, head of department charged with agricultural training at Hendrik Potgieter Agricultural School in Reddersburg, is the driving force behind the shearer training in the Free State. The school’s third shearing and wool classification competition was presented at the Bloem Show in Bloemfontein in preparation for the upcoming national sheep shearing competition.

This year, a hand shearing class was presented for the first time, and six pupils took part.

“What makes the hand shearing so good is that our kids can shear small groups of sheep on farms over the weekends. All you need are sheep-shears and a grindstone. They have earned a considerable amount of pocket money with this.”

Hendrik Potgieter, also known as Lanties, currently has 11 experienced wool classifiers in high school and 11 in primary school. In the school’s shearing course in February of this year, 34 students took up the theory and 15 passed it. “Seven passed the practical, meaning they are increasing every year.”

A total of eight pupils competed in the machine shearing section in the past competition, and six in the hand shearing section.

Lanties’ first shearing course was in 2013, after which it was offered annually until the Covid-19 pandemic broke out. In 2022, there were only three wool classifiers representing the school in the Free State team. This year, the Free State team has 26 participants, 25 of whom are Lanties students. The interschool competition will be presented during the national sheep shearing competition at the Bloem Show on 25 and 26 April.

EP Nel, adviser to the Free State Department of Education, confirmed the progress in the transfer of farm skills. The department will host its third farm skills competition in Kroonstad at the end of August.

A national competition is also planned, where five or six provincial school teams will participate. This will coincide with the Alpha event at Bothaville’s Nampo Park.

Around 220 learners from 14 schools took part in the competition last year. More schools have enrolled this year. The provincial teams consist of 26 members, each of whom may only participate in one skill division.