Step 1

At certain times every year New Zealand farmers muster their sheep for shearing. 'Mustering' is the 'round up' of the sheep from the surrounding paddocks, hills and mountains and then droving them to the woolshed for shearing.

Mustering the 'high country sheep stations' is a very big operation. Shepherds ride horses over many miles of mountains and hills, droving thousands of sheep down to the lowlands and then to the shearing shed.

Shearing is the process of removing the wool without hurting or harming the sheep. This is similar to us having our hair cut.

Shearing sheep is a specialized skill and it is very hard work.

In New Zealand the fastest shearers can shear more than one sheep every two minutes. Once shearing is completed, the sheep are returned to the paddocks to graze and grow more fine wool.

Meanwhile, in the wool shed, the wool is graded and packed into bales for transportation from the farm to the Wool Scour for cleaning.

Step 2