Shearer shortage reaches crisis point

A power battle is emerging in the sheep industry as shearers and producers struggle to tackle the nation’s burgeoning flock.

A power battle is emerging in the sheep industry as shearers and producers struggle to tackle the nation’s burgeoning flock.

Growers are being left without full shearing boards or no shearers at all as they fight to secure staff – with some shearers reportedly getting paid as high as $10 per sheep.

And the failure of some teams to turn up or finishing early means sheep are yarded unnecessarily, creating animal welfare concerns.

It comes as one of the nation’s biggest station continues a desperate search for shearers for its 30,000-Merino flock.

The MacLachlan family’s Jumbuck Pastoral Company, which operates a number of stations, has made a nationwide call to find shearers for an immediate start on Commonwealth Hill Station.

Commonwealth Hill is located in South Australia’s northwest pastoral area, with Merino sheep run on almost 500,000ha, west of the Stuart Highway.

“Starting as soon as possible, and not later than March 13, we seek an experienced shearing team of eight shearers and eight wool room staff to complete shearing at Commonwealth Hill Station,” an advertisement reads.

“With expectations to shear around 1300 per day, the work will run roughly for four to five weeks.”

The Weekly Times contacted Jumbuck Pastoral Company about its search but the directors declined to comment.

Industry first warned of the shearer shortage late last year and Don Macdonald from Macdonald and Co Woolbrokers at Dubbo, NSW, said he had never seen a time where shearers held more power.

“I have heard anecdotal evidence that in Western Australia, one full contract rate was $16 per sheep,” Mr Macdonald said.

“We are in a perfect storm where we are peak season for shearing and there is a flush of lambs that need to have their wool taken off, and the only thing that can fix it is more shearers.”

Last week, Mr Macdonald was elected chairman of the newly formed National Training Advisory Group and said while training was an important long-term solution, finding more shearers now was an immediate priority.

“We need to look at sourcing shearers with skills, and that could be from the United Kingdom or South America or South Africa,” Mr Macdonald said.

“We also need cool heads – as shearers, and shed hands, and contractors and growers, we are all in this industry together.”

WoolProducers Australia chairman Steve Harrison said granting visas to allow international shearers immediate access to Australian sheds was critical, and it was something his organisation had been pushing for two years.

“It just seems that shearing is not high on the priority list (to approve visas),” Mr Harrison said.

He said shearers wielded “enormous power” at the moment, and while contractors tried their best to supply the number promised, better offers by other producers or contractors meant they often could not deliver as agreed.

“It makes it very difficult when you are promised six shearers, and you yard enough sheep for them, and then only three or two turn up,” Mr Harrison said.

“Those sheep have been off feed and water for no reason.

“There are good teams around but there are others who are not doing full days or even full weeks because they are getting paid more so they feel they don’t need to.”

Lionel Garner from Willshear at Hay, NSW, has flown over nine New Zealand shearers in the past fortnight to join his team, which was down to just four before they arrived.
“We have work ahead of us and 11 of the 13 shearers we have on our books now are Kiwis,” Mr Garner said.
“I know of shearers who are being offered $10 per sheep for say 100 lambs, and they do two jobs like that over the weekend and they get $2000, so why would you turn up to work.”
Mr Garner warned the problem was not going to get better soon.
“In two years time, we will be still facing the shortage and the only thing different will be the prices will be up,” he said.

Shearing Contractors Association of Australia chief executive Jason Letchford said thefight for shearers meant contractors could pick the properties they wished to work on.

Sheds in remote and hotter areas were, in some cases, harder to staff with the current shortages.

Mr Letchford said while some might think shearers were chasing higher pay rates, what many really wanted was to work in sheds where there were good conditions.

“Those who have natural conditions that they can’t do anything about, like the pastoral areas of South Australia and western NSW, need to make sure that they do the most they can with the man-made conditions,” Mr Letchford said.

“If you have good working conditions and good sheep, you are going to be at the front of the queue.”

Shearer shortages are seeing delays in shearing programs with some sheds unable to find staff.