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Falklands Shearers in Action By Sharon Marsh In this age of modern technology one would think an easier method would have been devised for shearing a sheep. But no, this traditional Falklands industry still requires hard graft from daylight to dark. The modern shearing season now begins a little earlier than it did traditionally, with the introduction of pre-lamb shearing. Previously the season would have begun in early November with the hoggetts (one year old sheep) being shorn but industry experiments have shown in recent years that to shear ewes before they lamb can improve lambing percentages and the well being of the ewe - provided the weather doesn't do anything too controversial. Once the sheep are gathered and brought into the paddocks near the shearing shed the worries begin: will the weather hold so that the sheep will be dry enough to shear? If not, is there adequate food for the sheep? Will the weather remain fine for the crucial period following the shearing so that the sheep can be returned to the feeding grounds which will also provide shelter for the animals? The with the animals in the shed, the action begins. The introduction of motor shears over thirty years ago has made their job easier, but the shearers' work remains a back breaking task. Although these skilled men make the job look easy, eight hours spent handling sheep while bent double much of the time takes its toll. The animals are pushed up through holding pens into the shearer's catching pen. The shearer catches the sheep, turns it over onto its back and positions it on the shearing board where what must be a truly terrifying experience for the sheep then takes place. A whirring of razor sharp shears can be heard and in a matter of two to three minutes (depending on the skills of the shearer and the co-operation of the sheep) the dazed animal is sliding down a chute to join its also naked colleagues in the 'letting go pen'. At this point the woolhandling 'rousies' (an abbreviation of 'roustabout') shift the wool to a sorting table where all stained wool and fribs (dry short wool from the edge of the fleece) are removed. The rousie is no slouch and has to work at a fast pace, dictated by the shearing gang, for the entire day (unlike a shearer who, should he have an off day, can work at any speed he wishes). Then it is on to the classing table for the fleece to be sorted depending on micron (fibre diameter), length and colour. The classer has a huge responsibility in so much as prices achieved can depend on the standard of their work. The wool is sorted into the relevant wool bins for the 'presser' to collect. The presser is employed to pack the wool into bales for shipment to the United Kingdom. Here, the benefits of modern technology can clearly be seen. At one time bales were packed physically - the wool was forced down into bags - but now the luxury of the upright press and smaller bales mean that one man can do work which previously took a team of three or four. The bales will go on to be core tested in the Islands and samples will be sent to New Zealand. This information will be used to assess the quality of the wool for onward sale. Sharon Marsh is Deputy Editor of Penguin News but for almost 20 years was a farmer on West Falkland First published in the Penguin News on 10 October 2003 and reproduced with the kind permission of the Editor
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