TOP SIRE 2025–2026 INDUSTRY NEWS THE DRIVE TO INSPIRE YOUNG SHEARERS PUSHES NIKKI LYONS TO HUNT RECORDS You would be hard pressed to find someone who speaks more passionately about the Merino industry than Nikki Lyons. 1– 2– An inspiration to young shearers across the country, Nikki is yearning to see the national Merino flock grow in years to come to support the next generation. “It’s sad when kids come up to me and say they want to be a shearer when they grow up, because I just hope there’s enough sheep left for them.” Like the kids she inspires, Nikki’s passion for agriculture developed from an early age. She grew up in WA, learning to shear through training programs at the agricultural college she attended. “I really enjoyed it at school, so then I went to an off-campus shearing school to learn more.” It was this exposure to the industry that encouraged Nikki to think of shearing as a career option. “I took time off for a gap-year before university and decided to go shearing. The instructor told me not to – he said I’d only start to get the hang of it by the end of the year.” Around this time, she heard of WA-shearer Dwayne Black who had claimed multiple records for shearing Merinos. “I remember thinking that I would love to be good enough to do that one day.” “ I remember thinking – 19 –
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