Australia's wool industry is facing a significant shortage of sheep shearers. Poor working conditions and the attractions of better paid jobs in the country's booming mining sector have led to an exodus of shearers. From Sydney, Phil Mercer reports:

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Shearing is often a back-breaking job where thousands of kilograms of sheep meat are shifted every day. Joe Sullivan from research company Australian Wool Innovation says workers continue to leave the industry.

JOE SULLIVAN
"Let's be honest - one, it's a hard, physical job. Shearers have a limited lifespan in the role but also because of competing industries and with the resources boom, we're having quite a significant demand for labour from the mining industry."

Australia's long-standing drought has reduced sheep numbers and although farmers need fewer shearers there still aren't enough to go round. Efforts are being made to attract new recruits and increase productivity. There are training courses around the country and researchers are looking at ways to make the job easier.

A good shearer can get through 200 sheep a day, but the punishing work often leads to chronic back pain and other injuries.

Listen to the words

sheep shearers
people whose job is to cut the wool off sheep

deserting
leaving

in droves
in large numbers

unprecedented
like never before

shifted
moved

boom
rapid increase

long-standing drought
long period of time when there has not been enough water for crops and farm animals

aren't enough to go round
the number of people available to do the work isn't enough to do all the work that is needed

the punishing work
the physically hard work

chronic back pain
pain in the back that lasts for a long period of time and doesn't stop when the work that causes the pain stops

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