European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 20, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Shear 1ghti by Tara Bradley Steck associated press hearing a sheep is nothing like cutting hair. There s no delicacy no style and no one seems to mind if the customer suffers a few Nicks scrapes or even gouges As Long As they re not near a vital Organ. The idea is to Cut off the fleece As quickly As possible because like Little boys sheep get fidgety around Barbers. It s harder than it looks says Shirley mounts of Claysville pa., wiping the sweat off her brow with the Back of a hand after tackling a half shorn Ewe seeking Freedom. I m always afraid i m going to Cut the daylights out of one sad Ewe ambled off with four sizable cuts but nobody seemed concerned. They re a Long Way from the heart remarked one student As mounts 32, fretted Over her blunders. Mounts was one of 18 sheep fanciers who recently took a class on How to Cut fleece without cutting the animal. The two Day program sponsored by the Washington county agricultural Extension office is held each year during the Spring shearing season in a Hilly farm studded Corner of southwestern Pennsylvania. Sheep Farmer David Horn opens up his Large wooden barn perched on a slope overlooking neatly grazed pastures and provides students with As Many customers As they need to hone their skills. In return Horn gets about half of his flock of 180 shorn for free although the results Are a Little ragged. I was going to Experiment with mine but i m sort of glad i did t. I think i would have killed them said Dave Krupski 30, who raises 15 sheep on a relative s farm in Independence township. It s hard work believe it or not. A lot of them Aren t lambs they re Lions. Some will sit and Lay in your Lap but the ones with the horns Are real feisty. I be done five sheep in eight hours and they say australians can do a sheep every 11/2 agricultural Extension agents say that after two Days of classes students Are Able to Shear a sheep in about five minutes. Speed Means Money to commercial shearers who charge about $2 a head. But for the students who just want to learn enough to Shear their own flocks Speed Means the difference Between doing it right and not doing it at All. Sheep get fussy if they re fussed Over for too Long. After years of hard times sheep farming in the country is on the rebound. In the West it s a full time Job because flocks number in the hundreds and thousands. But in Eastern states like Pennsylvania sheep Farmers Are largely part timers who have Small flocks of 50 or fewer says Joanna Shepherd of the Washington county Extension service. In Washington county and neighbouring Greene county the state s two leading sheep raising counties commercial shearers Are a Premium she says. Sheep Farmers particularly those with Small flocks have been turning to the classes mainly because they can t find anyone to do the Job. Last year nine people signed up for beginning sheep shearing. This year 22 wanted to attend four had to be turned away because there weren t enough instructors. We have Only 35 sheep. People Don t want to be bothered with them says Bill Smith 39, of Lagonda. Then when you do find someone they Don t show up till the end of june and your sheep Are about dying from the at one end of the barn Extension agent de Wood coached a teen age boy on the importance of keeping his free hand away from the Clipper s Sharp Teeth. Gel your hands out of the Wool or you la Cut yourself Wood barked Over the incessant buzzing of a dozen clippers. But As the teen moved his hand away he failed to pull the skin taut causing the clippers to leave about a 1/2-Inch layer of fuzz. You re leaving too much Wool on her Wood complained. If you sold Wool you would t have enough Money to go out on saturday to get the maximum value for a fleece it has to be Cut closely with Long strokes so it comes off All in one piece. Shearers Start from the Back left Side work up to the belly head and Back then repeat the procedure on the right Side ending up at the Back right leg. Proper clipping technique Means nothing though if the Shearer can t pin Down a struggling 130-Pound sheep says Shepherd. You need to know where to put your legs How to hold the animal How to stretch their skin. You concentrate on How to get the Wool off for Horn and most of the country s sheep Farmers who mainly raise sheep for meat Wool is a secondary commodity. A fleece from most meat Breeds weighs about five pounds with the Price per Pound averaging just under $1, Shepherd says. After paying for the Price of shearing the Farmer makes about $3 per animal from the Wool. If the fleece is Cut improperly or is too dirty or coarse he gets even less. Sheep Are shorn late in the Spring after cold weather has passed. Domestic sheep have to be shorn once a year to maintain a High Quality fleece and to rid the animal of accumulated dirt and parasites. And it simply helps them feel More comfortable. Sometimes though their drastic change in appearance is unsettling especially to lot of them Don t recognize their mothers at first Horn says. They la bawl for a an increasing number of people in Pennsylvania Are turning to sheep As a Hobby or to supplement their incomes v Shepherd says. People like sheep she says. It s an animal most of us can physically handle without a lot of fuss. They Don t take a whole lot they just eat grass and a Little bit of Grain. And they re Nice. They must be just look at what these students Are doing to Dei fleecing a sheep As not All that easy. In Amity pa., sheep fanciers take a two Day class to find out How it is done. A today s Small towns Are in search of new people Basic survival. Free Cash free land tax Breaks by Sharon Cohen associated press it sounds like grand prize in supermarket sweepstakes free Cash land and a year of Golf and s More ladies and gentlemen everybody can be a too Good to be True offer no. A gimmick yes. The promotion is brought to you by the Friendly folks of Rolfe Iowa who Hope their Slick Campaign will entice people to move to a tiny town itching to get bigger. Rolfe which will provide $1,200, a free lot and recreation for folks who build and live in a House Worth at least $30,000, is among a growing number of towns in Rural America offering incentives to lure new residents or Industry. All across the heartland Small towns that have lost people jobs and schools to the farm crisis Are now waging aggressive campaigns in their struggle to expand or at least stay alive. Rural communities Are fighting for survival said Paul Lasley an Iowa state University sociologist. It s a very competitive situation we be got out some towns make pitches in radio or newspaper ads. Many have hired professionals. All Are humming a tune of promises promises promises Low business rents free buildings tax Breaks cheap utilities and in some cases hard Cash. Some towns Are Angling for jobs. Others want people. Both Are important. It s kind of a Chicken and egg question do jobs attract people or do people attract employers who bring jobs Lasley said. It s some of the increasing number of towns offering incentives he added reflects the desperate financial situation in Rural not All the towns have been ravaged by hard times but Many have seen neighbouring communities Wither away. They fear unless they move fast they la be next. Strategies vary in Chetek wis., population 2,160, a Bank is offering a $5,000 Reward this year to anyone who can bring in a new business that will employ at least 15 people full time. Come on Down to Small town . We re a Small town. We re looking for any Small employer. We re not trying to recruit a Saturn Auto Plant said Robert missling president of the Chetek state Bank which is offering the Reward. In Rolfe the incentives include Cash one year family membership to the Pool and Golf course and 8.8 percent initial financing. We feel like we have just about everything we need except people said Bill Winkleblack president of the Rolfe betterment corp. One couple has taken advantage of the offer and a House is under construction he said. In Osakis minn., up to $5,000 is offered toward the Cost of a lot and Home for anyone willing to build and stay five years. A similar offer is available to businesses. The program is financed with proceeds from the pull Tab a local instant lottery. We Don t want to lose what we be got said Tom Ellis a member of the Osakis economic development corp. It s sort of a Circle your Wagon one couple recently took advantage of the program and built a Home in town Ellis said. Officials said since the incentive was announced last fall about 25 inquiries had come in from As far away As California and Florida. In Mexico mo., prospective businesses Are being tempted with offers of free land and cheaper rents. The town will also offer Cash to a company based on the number and skill level of the jobs it brings to town As Long As the company stays 10 years. In the last two years five manufacturers that will eventually employ up to 630 people have moved to Mexico said Jerry Schmutzler City director of economic development. Another company that will provide 200 new jobs will open in july he said and plans in the works could bring 300 More jobs to town by 1990. Schmutzler said special offers Are important Only after a company has narrowed Down possible locations to a few towns. Then he said it s who wants the company the most. It s who s offering the biggest scores of other Rural towns have similar programs leading some experts to question whether they Are giving away the store. They feel like they Don t have a Chance unless they sell their soul said Rex Campbell a University of Missouri sociologist. They have to offer not just a building but a building with free taxes. Competition is so Tough he said if you go 10 Miles or 100 Miles Down the Road there s going to be some other Community that s willing to provide a company with free everything unless you offer free everything you la lose the drawback he said is there s Only so Many marbles to spread around. There s Only so Many plants looking for a and that can pit towns against each other. In some ways it s a Zero sum game said Lasley of Iowa state. One Community gains at the expense of but town officials say they carefully Analyse the Cost Benefit ratio before offering special deals. In Rolfe for example we need new housing said David Jochims City administrator. It commits people to our Community. We get a payback we get tax dollars and Utility dollars.1 the town of 700 has lost about 10 percent of its population since 1980, officials say and the last new House was built seven years ago. We need to offer jobs and housing. To ensure we re going to be Here in the future Jochims added. Iowa Federal statistics show lost 62,000 people from 1980 to 1986 in recruiting Many communities emphasize the Norman Rockwell aspect of Small town ., such As Low taxes Good schools Little crime. But often there s one missing piece in the Puzzle jobs and no matter what they offer experts say remotely located towns Aren t Likely to attract Industry and without work there s Little reason for people to relocate. Page 14 the stars and stripes wednesday july 20,1987 the stars and stripes Page 15
