The shearing of a Nanaimo senior乌鸦传媒檚 sheep was a neighbourhood affair last week, attracting family friends to see their first shearing, a neighbour乌鸦传媒檚 hand to help out and, of course, a professional shearer needed to make it happen.

乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檓 going to give them all a pair of scissors and we乌鸦传媒檒l be done in a minute,乌鸦传媒� joked shearer Lorea Tomsin as one of the ewes was brought out.

Deborah Wytinck, 75, wanted to be a farmer since she was nine. In the late 1970s she and her late husband Don arrived in Nanaimo and began raising their livestock, dubbed coneygeers flock.

At its height, the couple had a hundred north country cheviot breeding ewes, but now it乌鸦传媒檚 just four: Beanie, Beanita, BWX and GGW. The sheep are bred for lambs which then are either sold to larger operations or used for mutton.

But the money isn乌鸦传媒檛 why Wytinck does it 乌鸦传媒� it乌鸦传媒檚 the holistic benefits that keep her farming even after her husband乌鸦传媒檚 death in March. She said she doesn乌鸦传媒檛 know what the long-term future may hold, but for now she乌鸦传媒檚 keeping the farm going.

乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 a good, healthy life and you feed well and you keep active,乌鸦传媒� Wytinck said. 乌鸦传媒淲e make a certain amount of profit, but the inputs always exceeds your output it seems in farming.乌鸦传媒�

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The flock require about three hours of work a day. Wytinck said it乌鸦传媒檚 mostly comprised of keeping the holding pens clean, with a bit of time toward feeding the animals grain and hay.

乌鸦传媒淵our biggest thing is having safe perimeter fences, number one. The next thing us having divided pastures,乌鸦传媒� she said. 乌鸦传媒淯nfortunately when you乌鸦传媒檙e like me who is no good at fence building it乌鸦传媒檚 pretty difficult because all 乌鸦传媒� lifestock can be difficult on fencing. Especially Beanie乌鸦传媒檚 mother over there, Beanita.乌鸦传媒�

In the past, the unprocessed wool would be sold for processing in Duncan, but with the mill no longer in operation there, it has to be sent off Island.

乌鸦传媒淲e used to sell the very best to hand spinners. In fact, we still do, but not to the same degree since it takes a lot of time and effort,乌鸦传媒� Wytinck said. 乌鸦传媒淭hese are a hill breed, therefore it乌鸦传媒檚 not a wool you wear next to your skin, it乌鸦传媒檚 an outer.乌鸦传媒�

With wool comes the need for an annual shearing.

A fellow wool producer, Tomsin has spent the last 57 years shearing sheep 乌鸦传媒減regnant or otherwise乌鸦传媒� visiting farms throughout Cedar, Courtenay, Sechelt and other places.

Along with a cut, she gives each an oral boost of de-wormer, and the young get their ear identification tags, done similarly to a piercing.

Tomsin said she has seen a 乌鸦传媒渉uge decrease乌鸦传媒� of sheep and cattle farms in the past number of years.

乌鸦传媒淭he economics of feed production has been really hard hard because the animals eat 乌鸦传媒榵乌鸦传媒� amount of hay per day or feed and it乌鸦传媒檚 so expensive,乌鸦传媒� she said.

According to Tomsin, a producer needs a large number of animals if they want to turn a profit, and even then they may need an additional income.

乌鸦传媒淭he reality is, in agriculture in Canada, almost every farm has an outside worker, a person bringing in money, but what I call that is cash flow throughout the year. To be waiting for harvest at certain times of the year means you乌鸦传媒檙e without money for certain months. So people are always working a job.乌鸦传媒�

This is why Wytinck said she and Don began focusing on purebreds. Last year they sold a set of triplets for $6,000, but Wytinck warned not all lambs go that well.

乌鸦传媒淲ith a purebred animal you are reproducing, maintaining the character, but you know that the offspring, that乌鸦传媒檚 what you乌鸦传媒檙e going to get,乌鸦传媒� Wytinck said. 乌鸦传媒淚nto totally producing meat, you乌鸦传媒檙e definitely going to need to cross breeds and that will give you a higher percentage of meat most times.乌鸦传媒�

With the urbanization of Nanaimo, she said she believes she will be the last to run the farm since she can乌鸦传媒檛 imagine the agricultural zoning will be granted to the property again if it乌鸦传媒檚 ever lost.

乌鸦传媒淚t will die when I die or leave it,乌鸦传媒� she said.