April 13, 2016
As part of the AnS 229 sheep science class, students are given the opportunity to visit the ISU sheep teaching farm and learn about sheep shearing, skirting fleeces and wool evaluation. Animal Science Professor, Dr. Curtis Youngs says “The importance of what they are learning relates to the preparation of a high quality wool clip for subsequent manufacture of high quality woolen goods (such as sweaters). It also relates to increasing profitability of sheep production.”
The image below shows skirting of a fleece which is the process of removing dirty and low quality wool fibers before placing the rest of the fleece into a wool bag for marketing.
AnS 229 is an undergraduate course taught by Dr. Youngs, and it is offered spring semester.