More than three-hundred shearers and shed hands from around the country have converged on Katanning in WA's Wheatbelt, showcasing the wool harvesting industry. The national competition comes as the West Australian sheep industry struggles to adjust to the impending shut down of the live sheep trade, and the state's declining sheep numbers.
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00:0017-year-old Darcy King is a novice wool handler. She's one of many competing teenagers hoping
00:07their abilities will grow into a career in wool.
00:11I feel like I'll definitely have something in the agriculture and sheep industry, but
00:15yeah, because I've been growing up my whole life in the sheep industry, but I don't really
00:19know, see where it takes me.
00:21While a long-term goal is to become a full-time farmer, Darcy King wants to be a full-time
00:27While a life in wool is still attracting young recruits, the West Australian sheep industry
00:33is battling to remain viable. Wool, a long-time staple of farm income, is suffering collateral
00:39damage from the end of the live sheep trade.
00:43Lots of farmers are stopping their livestock and just going straight to crop, so it means
00:49less shearers that are needed, less jobs.
00:53Experienced wool workers are worried what the future will hold for the trade, which
00:58has supported country towns for generations.
01:01Talking to farmers in the last month, there's a lot of people still getting out of sheep
01:05that just, with the live export and the price of wool, it's not viable to farm sheep at
01:12the moment in WA. It's very hard.
01:15But despite the downturn, there's still optimism the wool industry will continue to grow.
01:22We're trying to create pathways for younger people to come in and take it on as a full-time
01:26job, not just a seasonal work. We really want to make this a career.
01:31There's always a future for any good shearer. That's the same as wool handlers. I think
01:38in general the quality of shearing will pick up around the place as well.
01:41The national competition moves to South Australia next year.
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