increase font size
Australia fears a shortage of shearers after New Zealand shearers return home once our borders reopen.
In a twist on the usual formula, Australia fears a shortage of shearers in that country after New Zealand shearers return home once our borders reopen.
With NZ's border opening up but Western Australia's tightening, many Kiwi shearers who were in Australia when our borders were locked down in March 2020 will now have the opportunity to return home - without needing an MIQ slot.
However, many who choose to return home to NZ will find it difficult, if not impossible, to return to Western Australia. New Zealand's borders will open to fully vaccinated Kiwis and other permanent residents travelling from Australia starting from February 27. However, despite Prime Minister Scott Morrison's plan for Australia's borders to open internationally on February 21, Western Australia is going a different way. That state is taking a tighter approach to regional travel and capping foreign visitors at 265 people a week following an Omicron outbreak.
NZ shearer Aromia Ngarangioni told Australia's ABC that about 60% of shearers currentl working in Western Australia are from New Zealand.
Like many, she has not seen her home since early 2020, when she returned to NZ for her mother's funeral.
It is likely many similar stories will be found among other returning NZ shearers, homesick or having business back home to sort out.
However, there is concern in Western Australia about the impact this will have on their sheep industry. With an exodus of talented shearers and border restrictions (both international and regional) making it difficult to find suitable employees, there are fears a shearer shortage could further impact an already stressed industry.
Shearing contractor Greg McAtamney runs several teams in the Great Southern region of WA.
"I'll probably lose six to eight people straight away, maybe more. That's an entire team," he told the ABC.
McAtamney says if this happens, he doesn't expect to meet farmers' needs for shearers at a crucial time of the year.
"A lot of sheep are due to lamb in April or May, so they need to be shorn four to six weeks before that for animal welfare reasons," he said.
Meanwhile, WA Liberal upper house member Steve Martin told the ABC the feared shearer exodus could make an already stressed industry worse.
"They [the shearers] work longer and longer hours," he said. "The farmers get their shearing dates pushed back."
A WA state government spokesperson said it was working closely with industry to manage the shearer shortage.
While wool returns continue in the doldrums, smart sheep farmers are looking for alternatives for a product that currently cost more to get off a sheep's back than it's worth. One such initiative is run by husband and wife team Hayden and Anastasia Tristram who farm at Wanstead in the Central Hawke's Bay. Mark Daniel reports.
New research has provided insight into the functional potential of wool-derived protein, with an initial trial revealing it can influence how the body responds to insulin.
South Canterbury farmer Angela Blair has delivered a petition to Parliament calling on the Government to reverse its decision to fit rural schools with synthetic carpet.
Thousands of students could benefit from a new initiative designed to simplify schools’ access to New Zealand wool carpets for their classrooms.
Wool carpet maker Bremworth's Napier plant remains offline following Cyclone Gabrielle in February, with the future of 136 workers still up in the air.
Rural trader PGG Wrightson has revised its operating earnings guidance, saying trading conditions have deteriorated since the last market update in February.
It's been a bumper season for maize and other supplements in the eastern Bay of Plenty.
Leading farmers from around New Zealand connected to share environmental stories and inspiration and build relationships at the Dairy Environment Leaders (DEL) national forum in Wellington last month.
AgriZeroNZ, a joint venture fast-tracking emissions reduction tools for farmers, is pouring $5 million in a biotech company to develop a low emissions farm pasture with increased productivity gains.
Fonterra is teaming up with wealth app provider Sharesies to make it easier for its farmer shareholders to trade co-op shares among themselves.
Te Awamutu dairy farmers Doug, Penny, Josh and Bayley Storey have planted more than 25,000 native trees on the family farm, adding to a generations-old native forest.
