08-05-2025
Drought impacts South Australia's wool industry leaving shearers without work
Shearers are struggling to find work as Australian wool production falls to its lowest in more than a century.
Steep falls in wool production and sheep numbers in drought-affected South Australia have forced shearers to look interstate and overseas for work, or consider leaving the industry.
Naracoorte farmer Paul Oster said he had seen the wool industry from many angles as a grower, shearer, trainer and shearing contractor, and the drought and increasing costs were impacting all involved.
"It has a rippling effect through everyone's business livelihood, their family livelihood, community livelihood … it's of great concern," Mr Oster said.
Mr Oster is worried good workers are turning away from the industry due to the lack of opportunities.
He said well-organised shearers could once keep themselves busy enough through the year to make ends meet, but options had become limited.
"We have such a high-performing level of staff right now that are unfortunately questioning, 'Where is our future?'" Mr Oster said.
Shearing Contractors' Association of Australia shearer woolhandler training executive officer Glenn Haynes was also concerned.
"I honestly think we are going to lose around 20 per cent of our workforce in South Australia," he said.
Mr Haynes said he was putting on extra training sessions in 2023 to help fill a shortage of workers in the industry.
He said the shortage had since turned into an excess.
"We've still got a lot of young people wanting to get into the industry … but it's having a job on the other end of it."
While those looking for work would usually go interstate, he said the opportunities were not there either.
"The trouble is you have the majority of Victoria in a similar situation and a lot of NSW in the same situation, and then the floods in Queensland, and Tasmania is just full," Mr Haynes said.
"WA's sheep numbers have dropped dramatically over the last 12 months … so we have a lot of Western Australians ringing looking for work as well.
"There's a lot of guys and girls out there that are just … going to have to travel [overseas for work] this year."
The Australian Wool Forecasting Committee expects the nation's wool production to decline almost 12 per cent this year compared to last.
It has forecast a further 8.4 per cent drop in the coming financial year.
The estimated wool production for 2025-26 is 256.6 million kilograms, which would be the lowest recorded level since the early 1900s.
In SA and WA, this year's clip is forecast to fall 18.4 per cent.
Australian Wool Network SA manager Rod Miller said many producers had reduced their flock due to the ongoing drought.
"The excessive, long feeding cost is the proverbial straw breaking this camel's back," Mr Miller said.
"The drought will finish one day, but we're going into the second year now and if you're feeding out sheep over 14 months continually, it's a real Groundhog Day for a lot of these producers.
"With higher input costs and include shearing as well, and the feed costs, it's just soaking up all the profit margin and taking a lot of the fun out of it."
Mr Miller said SA was feeding an oversupply of drought-affected wool into a market of low global demand.
While people in the wool industry agree times are dire, those who have stuck with it believed it could bounce back once rain returns.
Sandy Martin, who operates Baratta Station in SA's mid-north, said he had ridden the ups and downs of the sheep industry for the past 45 years.
"In the last 10 years, we've had three years of drought, two years of COVID, two years of low commodity prices, and we're still in business," he said.
"Actually, we've had a lovely year at Baratta and our sheep and wool production has been above-average, and our farming country at Jamestown is just hanging in there.
"If we get rain, we'll get back on track pretty quickly.
"If it all comes together, it's a bloody beautiful industry — I couldn't think of anything better."
