A central Victorian shearing contractor says rising inflation is slowly increasing shearing costs, but moves are underway to keep expenses down for farmers by building a more significant workforce.
Shearing contractor Adam Webb, Kamarooka, said he sometimes had to get creative to fill the workforce.
He has utilised students either graduating from or studying at Longerenong College in Horsham, which he said provided them with valuable, hands-on experience.
"A few people from Longerenong who've been studying had a bit of a time to fill in over summer," he said.
While he believes inflation across the wider economy are a factor, he said shearing can be cost-effective.
"If you look back to the '90s, farmers were still getting the same price of wool as they are now, but I can guarantee farmers' costs back then are a lot less than now," he said.
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The latest Fair Work Ombudsman's Pastoral Award pay guide fluctuates depending on what sheep are being shorn and other factors
For example, it states that shearers should get paid $347 per 100 sheep - or $3.50 a head - for a non-double fleeced machine shearing situation where the shearer does not own a stud comb.
That rate goes up to $694 when shearing rams or ram stags with the same parameters.
Shearing Contractors Association of Australia secretary Jason Letchford said conditions and rates for Victorian growers and shearers looked "peachy".
"The areas where we have that fat lamb and productivity country like south-east South Australia and Victoria, it generates sheep that shearers love to shear," he said.
"The style of sheep is a far more attractive proposition, and shearers in those places could work 50 weeks a year and go back to sleep in their own bed every night."
Mr Letchford said it was critical new shearers came into the system, both locally and interstate.
"We are now just about to hit 250 new entrants into the workforce, with new systems in place so that we can stay in touch with new entrants, and about a 70 per cent hit rate to fully work in the industry, which is great for bang for the buck from a levy payer, who can see their money being used," he said.
"Farmers [in Victoria] would like more shearers obviously because you don't want to be waiting in a queue, and you are asking for a service, and you'd like it on tap when you are wanting it at the best time.
"But the rest of the country is different to that, as NSW, Queensland and WA are really struggling at the moment... in peak times those states are four to eight weeks behind, and there are woolgrowers pondering getting out of wool-growing sheep."
Mr Webb said he had seen advertisements in those states paying shearers more than $5 a head, but sometimes more than pay was needed to attract workers.
"About five or six years ago when I stayed with decent teams, there were good huts with pretty good cooks out there," he said.
"But sometimes when you get into the job a bit, you see some bad areas, and it wasn't attractive when you are travelling with a swag and a suitcase in some tin sheds."
He said two other factors contributing to shortages included farms with "ugly" sheep to shear and some farmer attitudes towards the safety and conditions of workers.
But he said that was changing, and more farmers were looking toward implementing safer shearing plants and installing portaloos for female shearers.
Australian Wool Innovation, Wool Producers Australia and most heads of the wool committees for state farming organisations met in Sydney recently to discuss those challenges in getting more workers.
Mr Letchford said there was a delicate balance to satisfy all parties.
"As an industry this is something we are all concerned about as it's a big industry, and if we have a situation where we can't provide that service then there will be trouble for businesses because of the numbers," he said.
He said it was important that shearers headed into the workforce at the peak times when areas hit optimal sheep numbers.
"For shearers, if they don't have continuity of work, and they're sitting down for 10 weeks a year on a fantastic pay on a daily rate, it goes from a great pay rate to an ordinary rate," he said.
"That's when we do see people questioning whether they should be working as a shearer where they could take up full-time work elsewhere, and we may see our industry struggling further without that continuity.
"There isn't any silver bullet here though."
He said for more remote areas, reliance on providing good conditions for workers in the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme was needed.
"PALM has been widely used in horticulture, and we as an industry need to show we have really strong award structures and significant pastoral care available to workers who come here, which includes conditions and accommodation," he said.
"As an organisation, we are super mindful of that, [and] we are now in the process of putting forward PALM candidates that are going to be great role models for that process."
He said PALM workers mainly offered a medium-term gain for the industry, but with the right guidance, those workers could also be beneficial in the long term.
"This spring we are not expecting to have any volume of PALM workers, but we may have a few to establish a pathway and look towards future autumns and springs," he said.
Victorian Farmers Federation livestock group president Scott Young said the industry needed to work together to address both shortages and expenses.
"Wool handlers and shearers travel around Australia, and we have to have a united training procedure and also work to source people from where we need them," he said.
He said woolgrowers had had a lot of pressure put on them due to delays in booking times for either crutching or shearing.
But farmers were also adapting to ensure profits were still be made.
"It's made it hard, and there are some who are moving out of the industry and onto shedding breeds, but those businesses are adapting and taking action to keep profitable," he said.
"They are also trying to get those good animal welfare outcomes, but costs are definitely on many woolgrowers' minds."
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