Wool harvesting running in the family

Pictured above: The Schoff family celebrating the wins of Grace, Alexander and Karl at the 2023 National Shearing and Wool Handling Championships, with parents Phil and Michelle, and sister Holly. 

National wool harvesting champions Alexander, Grace and Karl Schoff from Chinchilla in Queensland come from a family with a background in sheep and wool. 

Their father, Phil, has been shearing since he was a teenager; and their mother, Michelle, has been in the sheds most of her life too, wool handling and classing. Before the family moved to Queensland about 13 years ago, the family had a sheep station at Cobar in central western NSW, so the siblings have been involved in sheep for most of their lives. 

Alexander on his way to winning the 2023 national open wool handling title. 

Eldest son Alexander learnt how to shear when he was young, but he prefers and excels at wool handling. 

“Growing up on a sheep station from a very young age I used to help mum with the wool handling and all other aspects of shed work during shearing,” Alexander said. 

“When I left school I went straight into working in the shearing sheds. I learnt on the job and also a lot from watching competitors, like Joel Henare, at wool handling competitions. 

“I like that I can travel Australia with the job, looking at how each farm is run differently and learning from it. I’ve worked in every state with many different contractors. After I get back from New Zealand at the beginning of March, I will be going out to western Queensland and then Western Australia for the spring run.” 

"I would recommend wool handling to those who want to learn and do the job."
- Alexander Schoff

Grace hard at work in the shed. 

Grace, now 23, also had a great induction into wool harvesting from her parents and began her first shearing job in November 2018 as soon as she left school. 

“I was very keen to learn about shearing from the age of 13. I was always pestering my dad with questions and he patiently took the time to teach me quite a bit about how to shear. I also went to a shearing school at Willalooka in South Australia which was helpful,” Grace said. 

“During my whole first year of working, I’d pull up at least five minutes before the end of every run so I could watch each of the other shearers to see if I could learn something new. I found you can always discover something different from every shearer. And if you’re genuinely interested, they are more than happy to show you a few tricks they’ve picked up over the years. 

“I love the atmosphere in the shearing shed. When you get in a team with people who enjoy their job and love having a laugh, it makes the day go way too fast. It’s a great way to meet new people from all across the country and I love the challenges that come with the job.” 

“If you have got the heart and the willingness to continue learning and improving every day, shearing is a great career.” 
- Grace Schoff 

Karl competing, with father Phil watching on. 

Karl, aged 18, says shearing wasn’t at the top of his list of things to achieve when he left school, but when he started working in the shearing shed with his dad and brother as a shedhand, he gave shearing a go. 

“Dad showed me how to shear first on the long blow and I worked on other sections of the sheep as the weeks went by. I shore my first full sheep in August 2022 and later in the year I went and competed at my first show in Bendigo in which I made the final of the novice and placed sixth. It was a great feeling and from then on, I was hooked,” Karl said. 

“In January 2023, I got a learner’s pen with Ben Cocking in Henty. I thoroughly enjoy working with Ben and his crew and Ben has encouraged me by sending me to an AWI Learner’s shearing school at Walbundrie and later in the year to an Improver school at Lockhart which were both run by Richard Lahey. 

"The thing that I like about the wool industry is the challenge of trying to shear every sheep as clean as possible and to improve on my technique." 

“I plan on staying in the shearing industry as long as I can. I would recommend shearing if you have the passion, dedication, ambition and willingness to learn.” 
- Karl Schoff 

Triple Schoff success at the Nationals 

The Schoff family had a memorable time at last year’s National Shearing and Wool Handling Championships in Jamestown, with each of the siblings winning their category titles.  

Alexander won the open wool handling title, Grace won the intermediate shearing title and Karl, who only started shearing in January of that year, won the novice shearing title. Their sister, Holly, along with their parents, were all there in Jamestown to enjoy the excitement of the three wins. 

“It was amazing winning the Nationals,” Alexander said. ”But it was even better seeing Grace and Karl win because they work so hard to better themselves. It was also great to have mum, dad and my other sister Holly there because they have supported me so much. 

“I first started taking part in competitions in 2014 as a learner shearer and then I started competing in wool handling competitions in 2016 when I was in my last year at school and I absolutely loved it. I like putting myself under pressure and trying to better myself at every competition. I also enjoy meeting all the new people. 

“I hope one day to represent Australia at the World Championships and become a world champion.” 

Grace has been taking part in competitions pretty much since she learnt to shear. 

“Dad does competitions and has represented Queensland, so seeing him compete made me want to get involved. As I went to more competitions, I met heaps of amazing shearers who I could watch, and learn how they shear at competition level. Competitions are also great to catch up with mates and make new mates that have the same interests,” she said. 

Grace injured her shoulder a week before the National Championships last year, which she thought might hinder her performance in the competition. 

“Winning the intermediate class was a huge shock, I was by no means expecting such a good result with my injury,” she said. 

“The support from most of the Queensland team was really good, and I had a really good time catching up with people I hadn’t seen in years.” 

Karl says winning the novice shearing title at the Nationals was “amazing”. 

“At the competitions I like watching the open shearers. Since I have been doing comps, I have met a lot of great people who are willing to share their knowledge with younger people,” Karl said. 

Schoff siblings as wool ambassadors 

In recognition of their achievements and great work ethic, the siblings have been appointed as Queensland representatives in AWI’s new Wool Ambassadors Program. There are shearing and wool handling ambassadors in all states across the country, each tasked with promoting the wool harvesting industry at workshop and competitions. 

AWI National Manager, Wool Harvesting Training & Careers Development, Craig French, says the Schoffs are role models in the Queensland wool harvesting industry. 

“To have three national champions in the family in the one year is a remarkable achievement. All three are team players and have a willingness to learn and better themselves,” Craig said. “They have been chosen as ambassadors due to their outstanding talent and potential to excel, and their good conduct in shearing sheds.” 

Alexander says that he feels honoured to be selected as a Queensland ambassador for wool handling. 

“As an ambassador, I’m hoping that I can encourage more Queensland wool handlers to give the shows a go,” he said. 

“My philosophy is that if you have a goal in life that you want to achieve, don’t let negativity get in the way. I was told I would never be an Australian champion by someone, so every day at work was practice to improve on my technique.” 

Grace says being selected as a Queensland ambassador is an amazing opportunity. 

“I hope to gain as much knowledge as possible being an ambassador and to help out getting shows up and running in Queensland this year. I want to encourage more shearers and wool handlers to get behind the shows and hopefully we’ll have a bigger and better Queensland team in the future.” 

Karl says he was honoured to be invited to be an ambassador.  

“As an ambassador, I would like to help other young shearers to achieve their ambitions in the shearing industry,” Karl added. 

New Zealand trip provides more experience 

In January, the Schoffs and wool ambassadors from other states left on an extended trip to New Zealand, beginning with a two-day induction workshop hosted by New Zealand’s Elite Wool Industry Training, with a focus on harvesting wool from crossbred and composite sheep. This is part of an exchange program between Australian shearer and wool handler training providers (including AWI) and their New Zealand counterparts to ensure consistency of shearing and wool handler training across the Tasman and to help alleviate the shortage of shearers and wool handlers. 

After their induction, the ambassadors were disbursed to six approved contractors in the South Island to get further experience during paid work. The group attended another two-day training workshop at the end of February, prior to the Golden Shears shearing and wool handling championship in Masterton at which they had the opportunity to compete.

This article appeared in the March 2024 edition of AWI’s Beyond the Bale magazine. Reproduction of the article is encouraged.