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BROWN WOOL

1 trade involving this item across 1 trader.

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Last checked
11 August 2026
Java Edition
26.2, 1 of 1 row found
Bedrock Edition
1.26.30.5, 1 of 1 matching
Edition differences
none, both editions match

Brown Wool in villager trading

Brown Wool is a raw-material trade: villagers pay emeralds for it, which makes it a candidate for an automated emerald farm rather than something you purchase back.

Brown Wool is dyed or natural wool, useful for beds, banners, and builds. A Shepherd both buys wool from you and sells coloured variants back. A crafting grid makes one from 1 × brown dye and 1 × white wool. 2 of them make 3 brown carpet.

Villagers that buy Brown Wool(you give Brown Wool, get emeralds)

ProfessionLevelYou GiveYou GetVillager XPJava 26.2Bedrock 1.26.30.5
ShepherdNoviceBrown Wool1x Emerald2same in Bedrockverifiedverified

The 1 trade on this item was read out of the trade files Minecraft Java 26.2 ships in its own data, checked on against the item, both amounts and the use limit. Bedrock 1.26.30.5 is read as well, and where it disagrees the row says how. Which files, and what is not checked.

Your odds of finding Brown Wool

A villager only shows part of its trade table, so knowing who trades brown wool is not the same as getting it. The friendliest roll here is the shepherd (novice): 40% of them carry it, so it takes about 2.5 of them on average before one does.

Chance and daily throughput per villager for Brown Wool
VillagerTierVillagers with this offerRolls to see itMost from one villagerAfter a cure
ShepherdNovice40% (2 in 5)Bedrock 100% (1 in 1)about 2.532 emeralds a day2 restocks a day12 brown woolwas 18, 6 off

The chance is the draw size over the pool size in the game's own trade set file for that tier. The Bedrock line under it is the same sum on Bedrock's own table, which splits a tier into groups and draws out of each one separately, so the two editions often disagree. The day figure is the trade's use limit times the 2 restocks a villager is allowed per in-game day (Villager.allowedToRestock), so it is a ceiling and not an average: it assumes you are there for every restock. The cure column is 125 reputation times the trade's own multiplier, floored, and never takes a cost below one. Counted from the game's own draw sizes. How that check works.

Who trades Brown Wool, and at what price

To sell Brown Wool for emeralds, bring it to a Shepherd at the Novice tier (18 units per 1 emerald).

Is trading Brown Wool worth it?

The best rate any villager offers is an emerald per 18 brown wool, from the Shepherd, and 2 of the other 4 pay out faster. No villager sells brown wool back, so it is emeralds out and nothing in.

What the Shepherd pays for, best rate first
Any DyeApprentice12
Black WoolNovice18
Brown WoolNovice18
Gray WoolNovice18
White WoolNovice18
Units you hand over per emerald, so a shorter bar is a better deal. Every other row links to that item.

Brown Wool against the other 71 ways to earn an emerald

One slot at the Shepherd takes 18 brown wool a trade, 16 trades, 16 emeralds. 8 of the 72 villagers that pay emeralds, emptied out:

8 emerald routes measured against Brown Wool
A full slot ofToEmeraldsWorth in Brown Wool
12 acacia boatsmaster Fisherman12216 brown wool
24 book and quillsexpert Librarian12216 brown wool
72 pumpkinsapprentice Farmer12216 brown wool
160 coalnovice Fisherman16288 brown wool
132 glass panesapprentice Cartographer12216 brown wool
256 andesitejourneyman Mason16288 brown wool
320 stoneapprentice Mason16288 brown wool
288 papernovice Cartographer12216 brown wool

16 acacia boats against 384 paper for the same 16 emeralds, 24 times the carrying, and the shortest wait is the Fisherman at 10 real minutes of shelf, gathering not counted. Brown Wool itself pays 18 an emerald, so 53 of the 72 ask less and 15 ask more.

How Brown Wool trading works

Every brown wool offer here locks after 16 uses, and a villager restocks up to twice per Minecraft day, so one is good for 32 of these trades a day and no more.

The earliest brown wool shows up is the Shepherd's Novice tier, which a villager has the moment it claims the workstation.

How long Brown Wool takes in real time

288 brown wool empty one slot at the Shepherd, 2400 ticks (Villager.allowedToRestock) at 20 a second (TickRateManager) refill it 2 real minutes later, and the 24000-tick villager day (Timelines) holds 2 of those fills in 20 real minutes.

So one shepherd moves 576 brown wool against 32 emeralds a Minecraft day, 18 brown wool every 37.5 real seconds, 1.6 emeralds a real minute. 64 brown wool fit inside one of those slots, refill untouched.

Tips for trading Brown Wool

  • One villager, one restock: the Shepherd pays an emerald per 18 brown wool and that slot runs 16 trades, so 288 brown wool (4.5 stacks) is all one will take before it locks, for 16 emeralds in total.
  • Where they go back: that Shepherd also sells shears at 2 emeralds each, its cheapest offer.
  • Also on the Shepherd's list: black wool, gray wool, any dye, colored wool, colored carpet, bed.

Brown Wool trading FAQ

How many brown wool make an emerald?
18 brown wool at the best rate any villager offers, from the Shepherd at the Novice tier. That slot runs 16 trades before it locks, so one villager takes 288 of them per restock.
Which villager sells Brown Wool?
None. Brown Wool is bought from you rather than sold to you, so trading is a way to turn it into emeralds and not a way to obtain it.

Same trader, other items

The Shepherd works at a loom and also trades: