Shepherd Trades in Minecraft: Every Trade by Level

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Shepherds buy white, brown, black and gray wool (18 each) and every color of dye (12 each) for emeralds, and sell shears (2 emeralds), any-color wool, carpets (4 per emerald), beds (3 emeralds), banners (3 emeralds) and paintings (3 for 2 emeralds). Give one a loom and a sheep farm becomes both an emerald source and a decoration shop.

What you need

A loom and an unemployed villager
A sheep farm (white, brown, black or gray sheep) for the wool trade
Flowers or a dye farm for the dye buy offers

Step by step

Novice: buys 18 white, brown, black or gray wool for 1 emerald per offer; sells shears for 2 emeralds.
Apprentice: buys 12 white, gray, black, light blue or lime dye for 1 emerald; sells any-color wool or 4 any-color carpets for 1 emerald.
Journeyman: buys 12 yellow, light gray, orange, red or pink dye for 1 emerald; sells any-color beds for 3 emeralds.
Expert: buys 12 brown, purple, blue, green, magenta or cyan dye for 1 emerald; sells any-color banners for 3 emeralds.
Master: sells 3 paintings for 2 emeralds - the easiest way to farm a specific painting for a build.
Best emerald route: an automatic wool farm with sheared sheep feeds the novice trade endlessly; flower farms cover the dye offers.
The bed and painting trades make the shepherd the decoration profession: colors on demand without crafting dyes yourself.
Level the shepherd with wool and dyes, keep the loom reachable, and cure it for cheaper beds and banners.

Java vs Bedrock

The shepherd is the wool profession: wool and dyes in, shears, beds, banners, carpets and paintings out.

Versions: Trade amounts are the same on Java and Bedrock, with small offer-probability differences. Verified against the current trading table as of 26.x.

Frequently asked questions

What workstation does a shepherd need?

A loom. Place it near an unemployed villager and it becomes a shepherd; breaking the loom removes the profession.

What do shepherds buy for emeralds?

White, brown, black and gray wool (18 each) at novice, and 12 of each dye color across apprentice, journeyman and expert levels.

What is the best shepherd trade?

The novice wool trade for income (a wool farm makes it infinite) and the master painting trade for decoration - 3 paintings for 2 emeralds beats crafting and re-placing.