Sheep’s back versus shearer’s back
SHEARING is seen by many people as a back-breaking task and many shearers have suffered chronic and lasting back injuries as a direct result of their time in the game.
Dayne West, who runs a shearing business and also trains new shearers in the best techniques so they can thrive long-term in the industry, says during National Farm Safety Week it’s important to take the opportunity to acknowledge the advances the wool harvesting industry has undergone in recent years.
“These include the simple incorporation of innovations such as raised catching pens, where the angle of the pen floor slopes down towards the shearers’ door to enable them less resistance from the animal when dragging to their workstation,” Mr West told Dubbo Photo News.
“Or, the technological advances in the overhead plants and regular servicing emphasis of these plants for ongoing performance, as recently implemented from one of the industry manufacturers.”
Mr West says the actual workplaces across the industry as a whole, on average, are well below standard, even where graziers have built new sheds yet failed to provide the basics of a flushing toilet and running hot and cold water located at the shed.
“As opposed to walking up to half a kilometre for some workers to get to a toilet and having to hunch down around the base of a water tank in the mud and slop to address a simple task of hygiene like washing our hands,” he said.
Mr West can’t count the number of times people in the general population have asked him that if he’s a shearer, his back must hurt, with many telling him the slings to aid his back are the way to go – he’s concerned there’s a strong perception out there that the back-slings are a silver bullet.
“I personally do not use one, as I focus on using correct ergonomic positioning to the down tube, and maintaining a neutral back and engaging my core and legs to do the work,” Mr West said.
“I also maintain that, used over a long period of time, a back-aid sling without the correct arm attachment provided above the shearer will potentially create longer-term issues for workers than that of other current industry issues such as shearing large or incorrectly emptied sheep for wool harvesting.”
He’s also concerned about the future of the wool industry as a whole. He believes it has changed from being an industry that once proverbially carried this nation on its back, to now being a long way behind agri-technology advances in other areas.
“Statistically speaking... sheep graziers, have been able to offset their intermittent losses from other enterprises such as cropping in their profit and losses, whilst spending the larger percentage of asset advancement on these other enterprises as opposed to the wool harvesting asset base,” he said.
“Largely this is due to the misconception and ill-education of graziers that, yes, the wool harvesting workforce are only at their location for a relatively short period of time.
“However as they move from sub-standard location to sub-standard location, it is little wonder the biggest concern of wool harvesting contractors on the eastern seaboard going into the future is how will we encourage more people back into the industry as the national flock begins to grow again on this side of the country.”
Mr West says the answers are nuts-and-bolts obvious.
“Going forward there will not be just one. For some graziers a renovation will be required,” he said, “while others may look to go the way of the rest of the world’s wool harvesting practice shearing on portable trailers.
“Engaging a contractor with a shearing trailer that meets the standards required could be a more practical option into the future.”