Shearers and producers can find ways to get shearing back on track

But according to both producers and shearers, there are some solutions that could help fix the current shearer shortage. They reckon making some changes might help get shearers back on the board.

For Jo Treasure, it is simply a matter of mutual respect. And the 26-year-old knows what she is talking about - she is a sheep producer and a shearer to boot.

Jo is based at the family property near Cowra, on Mount View with her parents Brett and Shaneen. There she breeds second-cross lambs and Angus cattle, as well as cropping.

Jo first learned to shear at an Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) shearing school about three years ago.

"I learned and it was really difficult. People kept telling me not to shear because it's too hard. I didn't like the implication that I might not be able to do it - I saw it as a challenge, so I started to do it every weekend," she said. "I love the physicality of it. I'm not saying I'm the best shearer in the world by any stretch, but I go ok, and I find it more fun now than torturous."

The shearing has taken a back seat lately while she has been busy running the place.

As a producer, she understands the challenges around shearing, including the low return on wool and increased costs.

"I can totally understand why it's difficult for farmers to justify such an enormous outlay on building a new shed when you might only use it for 10, 15 or 20 days a year. Though I will say - anyone who has worked in a fully functional shed will say it pays itself off in dividends just to have your sanity."

But she feels people don't realise how tough shearing is.

"It's backbreaking work, and there is a general lack of understanding about how tough shearing really is. A lot of producers haven't tried it, so they just don't understand the level of skill that is involved," she said.

"I think it's important for farmers to learn to shear a sheep, or at least have a go, to understand what a shearer is going through."

She said producers could improve conditions.

"Some people don't even bother providing you with a tap with running water or drinking water. A lot of the time I would be happy with a bucket and a cake of soap, but you rarely get that. There's plenty of farmers who don't even look at the shed before you arrive. There is a general lack of respect that is quite off-putting," she said.

"Constantly sheep are full, and that goes back to an understanding about how tough the job is. Say a cross-bred ewe weighs 60 or 70 kilograms - you're dragging 40 of them a run. Then you're adding a couple of extra kilos of water weight that you are dragging out each time. Over the course of the day, it definitely has an impact. I've been to sheds before where the cocky is running them in 50 at a time out of the paddock."

She said good pay was important, especially when wool was tough.

"Tough sheep are part of the job, but people who buy a header to go contracting charge by the hour rather than by the tonne, because they understand that they might go into sub-optimal conditions. They are compensated for having to spend more time at a property. But for some reason, some farmers don't understand that concept applied to shearing."

"As producers we are happy to pay stock and station agents four per cent or more commission. Say you are selling a lamb for $150, so four per cent of that is $6. Think about how much work your agent does compared to a shearer, and you pay the agent that percentage of your income."

She said updating the shed could help keep shearers.

"It can be as simple as looking at the grating in the catching pens - are there nails sticking out that the shearer is going to catch themselves on all day," she said.

"Simple gestures of respect go a long way - some water, soap, a clean towel, and drinking water. And don't run your sheep into the shed and not speak to your shearers all day. Come in, find out how your sheep are shearing. Plenty of times I've not seen the cocky all day - the team will pen up for themselves if the rouseabout can't keep up. That happens more often than not. It's just little things that show respect."

But she said shearers also need to come to the table.

"I understand how tough it is to be in a shed with poor conditions. But if shearing is seen as a second-class profession, stop perpetuating that idea with your behaviour. Take pride in your work and see your job as an honourable profession, because it is. Simple things like turning up on time and doing a clean job on the sheep, don't leave rubbish all over the shed, don't swear or carry on or hit the sheep. If you respect yourself, people will respect you," she said.

"If a farmer is presenting you with good conditions, good pay and well-presented sheep, you need to reciprocate with the quality of your shearing."

For Helen Carrigan, attracting young people into the shearing industry is a huge part of the solution.

Mrs Carrigan and her husband Chris have just made the move to run their Dohne flock on a new property in East Gippsland in Victoria.

But Mrs Carrigan has been well and truly involved in trying to improve the shearing shortage - she has been the chair and deputy chair of the NSW Farmers wool committee for the past three years.

Mrs Carrigan has been involved with a group, including Jason Letchford, Shearing Contractors Association of Australia; Craig French, AWI; Pauline Smith, TAFE NSW; Rowan Woods, president of National Council of Wool Selling Brokers of Australia, as well as shearers and wool producers, in a committee called NSW Wool TAG (Technical Advisory Committee).

"We've been looking at the concept of attraction, training and retention. It's to draw people into the shearing industry and show the pathways. It's showing you don't have to be a shearer or a wool handler your whole career - you could be a classer or work in the wool store."

She said part of the problem was people weren't coming into the industry.

"A lot of parents don't want their kids to be shearers - they say it's a rough life. But it can be an interesting industry," she said.

"We are attracting them to consider. They don't have to come off a farm, but they might love physical work, working with their hands or animals.

"We give them training, help them find a job. That's where the contractors association comes in - they can ask contractors to take a learner on. Years ago it was standard that you had a learner on your stand.

"But we can keep contact with them and see how they are going. Sometimes kids end up with a really bad crew that wants to take advantage of them, and they just think 'that's it - I want to leave the industry'. They've ended before they've even started."

She said sometimes there were issues of drug and alcohol use, animal cruelty and sexual harassment in some crews.

"They are big issues but people don't talk about them."

She said if shearers did their training with AWI, they've got a stand as a learner and a learner kit, which helps with equipment.

To improve relationships between producers and shearers, she said NSW Farmers started the Safe Shearing Shed workshops with funding from Safework NSW.

She said the AWI's shed designs also helped producers who wanted to build or refurbish their shed.

She urges producers to take a look at their sheds.

"See what you can fix. It doesn't have to be big improvements. But talk to your shearers - find out if they are shearing right," she said.

"Find out if there is animal cruelty in the shed, are they treating each other ok, are there female rousies in the shed that are getting bullied or harassed. Talk to them and talk to the contractor, and see how you can improve."

"Make sure quarters are ok and clean, give them fresh running water, a toilet, better lighting. Put water in your yards so they aren't so dusty. You don't need a million dollar shed to make it safe and good to use."

Jeff Sutton is a perfect example of making a change to attract and keep shearers.

When Mr Sutton, who is principal at Wattle Farm Border Leicester stud, Temora, bought his property, there was only a large, open shed, but the fit-out had not been completed for shearing.

"We decided to put an elevated floor in part of the shed to allow for ease of cleaning, shearing and storage. It has worked really well," he said.

The building of the floor was done by a local service provider, and Shearing Shed Solutions supplied and fitted the four stands, catching pens, and the race from underneath the shed in 2007.

"Our team of shearers enjoy coming here to shear," he said.

"We make sure we provide the facilities - we make sure the shed and the shearing equipment is in good order, there's good ventilation and lighting in the shed.

"We put whirlybirds in the roof and LED lighting. We also put windows in, and have five or six fans to keep the shearers and sheep cool.

"We make sure we have fresh water available to the shearers, their staff and their animals."

His shearers also have access to a microwave and a fridge, coffee and tea facilities, male and female toilets, as well as a sound system and speakers for music.

"You pay them well and on time - it is a difficult job. That always helps to keep a really solid relationship with your shearers," he said.

"You must try and keep them happy."