A serious shortage of shearers has prompted an industry-wide rethink on everything from wages to accommodation and recruitment, while the state politicians most able to influence outcomes agree more needs to be done to fix the problem.
Federal Labor controls the flow of job recruits from overseas and NSW Minister For Agriculture Dugald Saunders says it can do more.
"I'm not passing responsibility to the feds but there is more to this than the palm scheme," he said at a recent farm writers' lunch.
There is a need for more skilled and unskilled workers from other parts of the world to help enable our workforce in Australia. That is a federal issue that we as state can absolutely work on, as we do constantly around state solutions, but we do need federal support."
Labor senator and shadow agricultural minister Mick Veitch, once a shearer himself who "ate freely of a night time" whenever a camp cook was employed, told the same gathering that living qualities for shearers had to be considered along with guidance from "mentors" who understood the industry from inside the shed.
"You can learn to shear a sheep in a week but that doesn't make you a shearer," he said. "That doesn't pay the mortgage; it doesn't pay the bills. There is a lot more to shearing than what goes on in a three day TAFE course.
"We need to work on a local labor force. Kids off the land will make the best shearers. They understand how hard the work is and understand the culture around the shearing sheds. It makes it easier for everyone if young, country kids are doing the work.
"Having said that there's no reason why city kids can't come out and experience that as well - we need to encourage our city cousins to come out and enjoy life in the regions and make a dollar and contribute to local economy."
"To do that, mentoring is critical. You want to encourage new workers; you can't just drop them in.
"Country kids rely on mum and dad but for city kids they do need mentors."
Minister Saunders reminded his audience that the NSW Coalition already have a program called AgSkills, which targets industry and government traineeships and opportunities
"It is currently running through grains and cotton, but it partners with significant industry players," he said.
"That is important. When industry has skin in the game with government you have really good outcomes."
Minister Saunders said job pathways involved "several avenues."
"We need to talk to industry in a meaningful way - not pay them to do everything but incentivise them to be part of that scenario," he said.
Read more: Where's the climate driver for what's next?
- Subscribers have access to download our free app today from the App Store or Google Play