For the first time in Rye the sheep-shearing team run by Jo Cutting is manned by an all-female troupe. This year she is joined by Alice McKay and Maxi Armistead from Melbourne, Australia.
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Jo first learnt to shear at Plumpton College and then went wool winding for Mick Cutting. Wool winding is the process of taking wool fibres and winding them into a more manageable and usable form. He gave her a stand and taught her to shear to a much higher standard. She has been shearing now for twenty-five years. She and her husband Mick also run five hundred ewes of their own.
How did it all start?
I got interested in sheep farming by helping my grandfather, who was a shepherd on Salts Farm, when I was young. I used to spend all my Easter holidays lambing. I now live on the farm where he was the shepherd.
Why do you employ sheep-shearers from overseas?
Because there are not enough skilled shearers in this country. When I first started to shear it was quite rare for women to be shearing, but now there are more and more women taking it up, but not many locally.
Alice - how did you become involved in the world of sheep-farming?
I grew up on a sheep and cropping farm in Drummartin Vic, Australia. On leaving school I went rousying which is a woolhandler.
What did you do next?
I then got my cert 4 in wool classing which I did for a couple of years then grew a passion for shearing and took that up nearly two years ago. I have been shearing since. When I’m not travelling shearing, I work for a contractor at home called North Central Shearing run by my brother Adam Webb. I love it and really enjoy working as a team player.
Maxi also came to work with Jo this summer alongside Alice.
Maxi - how long have you been shearing?
I have been shearing for eighteen months and got my passion for shearing from my mum who is also a shearer.
What is so great about shearing?
Shearing can be physically and mentally demanding but at the end of the day it’s very rewarding. It’s a good way to challenge yourself and is very satisfying to hit your goals. In addition, Alice and I love the atmosphere of the job: we get to meet and work with a lot of good people and travel to places we otherwise would not have got to. We love that you can work nearly anywhere in the world shearing.
Have you been to the UK before?
For both of us it’s our first time in the UK. It’s quite different from Australia, because back home we are nearly always shearing in a shed and here in England it is mainly outside. We’ve been shearing a lot of different breeds of sheep I’d never heard of back home.
What are you doing after the season ends?
At the end of the trip we are going to Wales for the Royal Welsh Show which is one of the largest agricultural events in Europe and then we are doing a tour around Europe for a few weeks. So far it has been an amazing experience, and we love working with an all-female team.
