The shearing of a Nanaimo senior鈥檚 sheep was a neighbourhood affair last week, attracting family friends to see their first shearing, a neighbour鈥檚 hand to help out and, of course, a professional shearer needed to make it happen.

鈥淚鈥檓 going to give them all a pair of scissors and we鈥檒l be done in a minute,鈥� joked shearer Lorea Tomsin as one of the ewes was brought out.

Deborah Wytinck, 75, wanted to be a farmer since she was nine. In the late 1970s she and her late husband Don arrived in Nanaimo and began raising their livestock, dubbed coneygeers flock.

At its height, the couple had a hundred north country cheviot breeding ewes, but now it鈥檚 just four: Beanie, Beanita, BWX and GGW. The sheep are bred for lambs which then are either sold to larger operations or used for mutton.

But the money isn鈥檛 why Wytinck does it 鈥� it鈥檚 the holistic benefits that keep her farming even after her husband鈥檚 death in March. She said she doesn鈥檛 know what the long-term future may hold, but for now she鈥檚 keeping the farm going.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a good, healthy life and you feed well and you keep active,鈥� Wytinck said. 鈥淲e make a certain amount of profit, but the inputs always exceeds your output it seems in farming.鈥�

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The flock require about three hours of work a day. Wytinck said it鈥檚 mostly comprised of keeping the holding pens clean, with a bit of time toward feeding the animals grain and hay.

鈥淵our biggest thing is having safe perimeter fences, number one. The next thing us having divided pastures,鈥� she said. 鈥淯nfortunately when you鈥檙e like me who is no good at fence building it鈥檚 pretty difficult because all 鈥� lifestock can be difficult on fencing. Especially Beanie鈥檚 mother over there, Beanita.鈥�

In the past, the unprocessed wool would be sold for processing in Duncan, but with the mill no longer in operation there, it has to be sent off Island.

鈥淲e used to sell the very best to hand spinners. In fact, we still do, but not to the same degree since it takes a lot of time and effort,鈥� Wytinck said. 鈥淭hese are a hill breed, therefore it鈥檚 not a wool you wear next to your skin, it鈥檚 an outer.鈥�

With wool comes the need for an annual shearing.

A fellow wool producer, Tomsin has spent the last 57 years shearing sheep 鈥減regnant or otherwise鈥� visiting farms throughout Cedar, Courtenay, Sechelt and other places.

Along with a cut, she gives each an oral boost of de-wormer, and the young get their ear identification tags, done similarly to a piercing.

Tomsin said she has seen a 鈥渉uge decrease鈥� of sheep and cattle farms in the past number of years.

鈥淭he economics of feed production has been really hard hard because the animals eat 鈥榵鈥� amount of hay per day or feed and it鈥檚 so expensive,鈥� she said.

According to Tomsin, a producer needs a large number of animals if they want to turn a profit, and even then they may need an additional income.

鈥淭he reality is, in agriculture in Canada, almost every farm has an outside worker, a person bringing in money, but what I call that is cash flow throughout the year. To be waiting for harvest at certain times of the year means you鈥檙e without money for certain months. So people are always working a job.鈥�

This is why Wytinck said she and Don began focusing on purebreds. Last year they sold a set of triplets for $6,000, but Wytinck warned not all lambs go that well.

鈥淲ith a purebred animal you are reproducing, maintaining the character, but you know that the offspring, that鈥檚 what you鈥檙e going to get,鈥� Wytinck said. 鈥淚nto totally producing meat, you鈥檙e definitely going to need to cross breeds and that will give you a higher percentage of meat most times.鈥�

With the urbanization of Nanaimo, she said she believes she will be the last to run the farm since she can鈥檛 imagine the agricultural zoning will be granted to the property again if it鈥檚 ever lost.

鈥淚t will die when I die or leave it,鈥� she said.