'Shear' skill is back on display again at Cannon Hall Farm

The family-run farm, which opened its doors to the public in 1989 and is based in Cawthorne, Barnsley, used to do sheep-shearing demonstrations at this time every year – explaining to visitors the art of the hardest job in the farming calendar.

The skill it takes to shear a sheep so the fleece remains in tact, and at speed, is one that takes years to cultivate and the team at Cannon Hall Farm have become experts over the years.

But the farm – which is the host venue for Channel 5 TV Show Springtime on the Farms – stopped demonstrating the skill to the public during the pandemic, and instead did the shearing behind closed doors.

Now, in time for half-term, the daily shearing demonstrations will be returning and visitors can join the farmers in our roundhouse display barns as they shear the flocks of rare breed sheep.

Farm director Robert Nicholson said: “Shearing is a really important part of the farming calendar and it is so exciting that we can finally return to demonstrating this to help educate people about this skill.

“For the first time ever, we will be shearing our own Dutch spotted flock to make our very own balls of wool, so not only will we be shearing the sheep, we will be following the journey of the fleece to the spinning as it is made into yarn to sell in the farm shop."