{
  "slug": "wool-shearing-revenue",
  "title": "Wool Shearing Revenue Calculator",
  "heading": "Wool & Shearing Revenue Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/wool-shearing-revenue",
  "summary": "Net revenue per head and per flock from wool after shearing costs.",
  "description": "Wool income on most commercial sheep operations is a modest secondary revenue stream compared to lamb sales, and shearing, crutching, and hauling costs eat a real share of the gross wool check. This calculator takes fleece weight, wool price (which varies enormously by micron count and quality grade), and per-head shearing and handling costs to show net wool revenue per head and for the flock, which is the number to weigh against whether wool income alone justifies maintaining a wool breed versus switching to a hair sheep breed that doesn't need shearing at all.",
  "formula": "Net revenue/head = (fleece weight lb × wool price/lb × yield %) − shearing cost − other handling cost.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=wool-shearing-revenue",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "head",
      "label": "Ewes/flock size",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 200,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 1,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "fleeceWeight",
      "label": "Fleece weight",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 8,
      "unit": "lb",
      "min": 1,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "woolPrice",
      "label": "Wool price (grease)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 1.4,
      "unit": "$/lb",
      "min": 0.1,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "cleanYieldPct",
      "label": "Clean yield (if selling scoured)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 100,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 30,
      "max": 100
    },
    {
      "id": "shearingCostHead",
      "label": "Shearing cost",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 7,
      "unit": "$/head",
      "min": 1,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "handlingCostHead",
      "label": "Other handling/hauling cost",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 2,
      "unit": "$/head",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "netHead",
      "label": "Net wool revenue per head",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "totalNet",
      "label": "Total flock net wool revenue",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "grossHead",
      "label": "Gross wool value per head",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "costHead",
      "label": "Shearing + handling cost per head",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Ewes/flock size: 200",
      "Fleece weight: 8 lb",
      "Wool price (grease): 1.4 $/lb",
      "Clean yield (if selling scoured): 100 %",
      "Shearing cost: 7 $/head",
      "Other handling/hauling cost: 2 $/head"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Net wool revenue per head: $2.20",
      "Total flock net wool revenue: $440",
      "Gross wool value per head: $11.20",
      "Shearing + handling cost per head: $9.00"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter ewes/flock size.",
      "Enter fleece weight (lb).",
      "Enter wool price (grease) ($/lb).",
      "Enter clean yield (if selling scoured) (%).",
      "Enter shearing cost ($/head).",
      "Enter other handling/hauling cost ($/head).",
      "Read your net wool revenue per head on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "head": 120,
        "fleeceWeight": 4.8,
        "woolPrice": 0.84,
        "cleanYieldPct": 60,
        "shearingCostHead": 4.2,
        "handlingCostHead": 1.2
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "head": 200,
        "fleeceWeight": 8,
        "woolPrice": 1.4,
        "cleanYieldPct": 100,
        "shearingCostHead": 7,
        "handlingCostHead": 2
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "head": 320,
        "fleeceWeight": 12.8,
        "woolPrice": 2.2399999999999998,
        "cleanYieldPct": 100,
        "shearingCostHead": 11.200000000000001,
        "handlingCostHead": 3.2
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "Why does wool price vary so much?",
      "a": "Fine wool (under 22 micron, like Merino) commands significantly more per pound than coarse wool from meat breeds because it's usable in apparel, while coarse wool mostly goes into carpet and industrial uses at a much lower price point. Micron count, staple length, and cleanliness (vegetable matter content) all move the price within those categories too."
    },
    {
      "q": "Can net wool revenue be negative?",
      "a": "Yes, and it commonly is on commercial meat-sheep flocks where wool price is low and shearing cost is fixed regardless of fleece value — many producers shear purely for animal welfare and health reasons (preventing flystrike, heat stress) rather than expecting wool to be a profit center."
    },
    {
      "q": "Why are hair sheep breeds gaining popularity?",
      "a": "Hair breeds like Katahdin and Dorper shed naturally and need no shearing at all, which eliminates this whole cost line and the labor of finding and scheduling a shearer, at the cost of giving up any wool income — a reasonable trade where wool prices are low and lamb is the real revenue driver."
    },
    {
      "q": "Does clean yield matter if I sell grease wool?",
      "a": "Not directly to your check if buyers pay a flat grease (unwashed) price, but understanding clean yield still matters because buyers price grease wool partly based on expected clean yield after removing lanolin, dirt, and vegetable matter, so a dirtier fleece often nets a lower grease price even before scouring."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/grazing-carrying-capacity",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/livestock-water-requirement",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/cattle-breakeven-price"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Wool Shearing Revenue Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/wool-shearing-revenue)"
}