Minecraft Shepherd Villager Trades
Workstation: Loom · Java Edition 1.21
Full list of Shepherd villager trades by level, with exact emerald prices. Most players come here for Shears. Want to search across every profession instead? Use the trade finder.
What a Shepherd sells
What a Shepherd buys (sell these for emeralds)
Getting a Shepherd: the Loom
Shepherds use a loom, made from two string over two planks. Looms are also the easiest way to apply banner patterns, so placing one serves both decorations and villager employment.
How to reroll and lock Shepherd trades
A Novice shepherd buys wool of one of four colors and sells shears. Reroll by breaking the loom until it wants white wool (the easiest color to farm), then lock it with a stack of white wool.
Best Shepherd trades by level
- Novice — 18 white wool for 1 emerald — A sheep farm with dispensers and shears is cheap and fully automatic.
- Apprentice — 12 dye for 1 emerald — Flowers from bone meal or a cactus/kelp-based green dye farm turn into emeralds.
- Journeyman/Expert — banners and beds — Any color of banner or bed for 3 emeralds saves sheep farming and gives decorative blocks.
- Master — 3 paintings for 2 emeralds — The easiest way to collect lots of painting variants for decoration.
Shepherd emerald farm idea
Build a sheep farm: sheep on grass blocks, dispensers with shears fired by an observer, hoppers below. Grass regrows the wool, and every 18 white wool becomes an emerald.
Java vs Bedrock Shepherd trades
Bedrock shepherds have a slightly different pool including more wool colors and carpet trades, and present the full tier at once. Java shepherds pick two random trades per tier from wool, dye and decoration offers.
Shepherd trading tips
Shepherds need a loom, which is two string over two planks, so you can employ one on day one. They buy 18 wool of a single color for 1 emerald, and their selection changes per villager, so a shepherd that buys white wool pairs perfectly with an automatic sheep farm. At higher levels they sell colored wool, carpets, beds and banners in any color, which is the fastest way to get rare dyes like cyan or magenta without growing flowers. At Master they sell paintings — three for two emeralds — handy for builders. Shepherds also make cheap shears at Novice, so you never need to spend iron on them.
FAQ
What workstation makes a villager a Shepherd?
Place a Loom next to an unemployed villager and it will take the Shepherd profession.
What does a Shepherd sell?
A Shepherd sells Shears, Wool (any color), Banner (any color), Bed (any color), and more for emeralds.
How do I reset a Shepherd's trades?
Before trading with it for the first time, break and replace its Loom to reroll all offers. After the first trade, its offers are locked.
What workstation is a loom?
The shepherd's job block, crafted from 2 string and 2 planks.
What is the best shepherd trade?
18 white wool for 1 emerald, because a sheep farm produces wool automatically.
Can shepherds sell any color bed?
Yes, Expert shepherds sell beds of a random color, which you can reroll by breaking the loom before the first trade.