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Fiber jubilee provides showcase for alternative agriculture

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Shearing Angora Goats

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RICHMOND TOWNSHIP — The goat could not have been comfortable.

Willow, a 6-year-old angora goat, lay upside down, trapped between David Kier's knees and ankles as Kier sheared the curly hair off her sides.

"Oh, that poor animal," one woman said.

Don't worry. The shearing doesn't hurt the goats, but...

"They don't particularly like it," said Sam Miller, owner of Tall Grass Farm in Richmond Township.

Sam and his wife, Susan, own about 50 goats and two llamas. Twice a year, a professional shears about six inches of mohair off the goats while the public watches at a "Fiber Jubilee."

The event showcases "alternative agriculture," Susan said. Vendors at the jubilee Saturday sold products from honey to llama wool to homemade soap.

"Obviously it's about supporting our business, but we found by creating this community we help each other," Susan said.

The handful of buildings on the farm Saturday was packed with people looking for unique products or a free family activity.

"I think it's wonderful that people are using natural products," said Pat Mucha, Rockford, Ill.

Mucha was buying a toy llama made of llama wool. The Spanish teacher said she's seen llamas in Peru and insisted on the Spanish pronunciation, ya-ma.

Judy Chan stood in line with her arms loaded with white mohair yarn. She came with four carloads of people from a Chicago knitting guild.

Chan likes mohair because it is a natural fiber that takes dye well, she said.

"I like buying from smaller farms," she added.

But the highlight for the children was watching Kier, a professional shearer with hair as curly and unruly as the goats'. He worked quickly and expertly, turning the goats in circles and clamping them between his feet as he cut their hair.

The Eau Claire-area resident travels all over Wisconsin and Upper Michigan to shear sheep and goats, he said. He learned his trade in New Zealand and spent the last four summers shearing in Scotland.

Professional shearers are becoming rare, said Kier, who estimates there are eight to ten shearers in the state. Farmers sometimes try to shear their own animals but find it hard to get quality fiber without cutting the animals, he said.

Plus, few can beat Kier for speed. He can shear 20 to 40 animals per hour, he said

"I can do more in an hour than most people can do in three or four days," he said.