Colorado wool harvest draws foreign workers

State is top 5 producer

BY WILLIAM WOODY SPECIAL TO THE COLORADO SUN

It’s that time of year when the best sheep shearers from around the world travel from ranch to ranch in Colorado shearing thousands of sheep during the annual wool harvest. Colorado is consistently one of the Top 5 wool producing states, producing more than 2 million pounds of ber each year that is used in a wide variety of products, according to the Colorado Department of Agriculture.

Shearing a sheep using mechanical shears to carefully cut the wool from the animal usually takes a couple of minutes and yields 11 to 13 pounds of wool per animal. e wool then is sorted for quality and bailed to be shipped and sold to wholesalers. Colorado wool growers say they take great pride in the care they provide their animals. Sheep must be shorn regularly to prevent excess wool from interfering with their ability to thermo-regulate. Excessive wool coats also make the sheep more vulnerable to becoming immobilized by physical obstacles in the environment and more susceptible to predator and parasite attacks. Shearing generally takes place before the lambing season each spring in order to aid in lamb health and survival. is story is from e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support e Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. e Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

Shearing companies usually hire professionals from South America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and many other countries who are trained speci cally to remove the wool from the animals.

Thu 4/27

Gii Astorga @ 7pm Culinary Dropout, 4141 E 9th Ave, Denver

FREE SHOW - The Homewreckers (ATX) w/Brent Loveday and Robot Tennis Club @ 8pm

Herman's Hideaway, 1578 S Broadway, Denver

Decadon @ 9pm The Church, 1160 Lincoln St, Denver

Fri 4/28

Lipgloss: An Indie Dance Party @ 9pm / $12

Ophelia's Electric Soapbox, 1215 20th St, Denver

Aftershock Colorado Band: Babes Nightclub @ 9pm Babes Nightclub, 2265 W 84th Ave, Denver

Sun 4/30 bomba estereo @ 7:30pm

Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop St,, Denver

Billy Porter @ 7pm Temple Hoyne Buell Theatre, 1350 Curtis St, Denver

Matthew Fowler, John Lensing, and Arran Fagan at Lost City (28 Apr) @ 7pm Lost City River North, 3459 Ringsby Ct, Denver

BERRIX: DUBWUB PRESENTS

D3VINITY @ 8pm RIVER, 3759 Chestnut Pl, Denver

The Crystal Method @ 11:59pm

Knew Conscious, 2350 Lawrence St, Den‐ver

Sat 4/29

Gilda House @ 7pm Marquis Theater, 2009 Larimer St, Denver

Featured Featured

Sturtz @ 1:30pm

Fire�y Handmade Market, S Gaylord St, Denver

Ruby Waters @ 8pm Bluebird Theatre, 3317 E. Colfax Av‐enue, Denver

Mon 5/01

May Before Care @ 7am / $5

May 1st - May 31st French American School of Denver, 2350 N. Gaylord St., Denver. 720-966-1380

Eric Golden @ 2pm Dirty Dogs Road‐house, 17999 W Col‐fax Ave, Golden

Damn Yankees @ 2pm Arvada Center, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd., Ar‐vada

Born Dirty @ 9pm Club Vinyl, 1082 N Broadway, Denver

Summer Knights @ 4pm Lost Lake Lounge, 3602 E Colfax Ave, Denver

Dougie Poole @ 8pm Hi-Dive, 7 S Broad‐way, Denver

Tue 5/02

Billy Porter @ 8pm Temple Hoyne Buell Theatre, 1400 Curtis Street, Denver

Begonia "The Powder Blue" Tour w/ Rachael Jenkins @ 8pm Globe Hall, 4483 Lo‐gan St, Denver

Wed 5/03

Rotem Sivan Band: Rotem Sivan Trio @ 7pm Dazzle Jazz, 930 Lincoln St, Denver

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Lead Into Gold @ 7pm Fillmore Auditorium, 1510 Clarkson St, Denver

Skinny Puppy @ 7pm Fillmore Auditorium, 1510 Clarkson St, Denver Spotlights @ 7pm Hi-Dive, 7 S Broadway, Denver

Yours Truly @ 8pm The Oriental Theater, 4335 W 44th Ave, Denver