TREVOR Anderson took up shearing because he reckoned he could earn more money doing so than pressing wool.
He made the switch when he was 30. Today at 61, he is still shearing.
At his best and with the right sheep, Trevor from Pipers Creek near Kyneton, reckons he can tally 200.
Like many veteran shearers who carry the scars of the shed he wonders why he is still doing it.
"I guess if you want to make a quid and you want to work close to home," he reasons.
As to how to attract young shearers to the shed, Trevor says it is not going to be easy.
"You can make three grand a week in the mines," he said.
The problem of finding enough shearers, at a time when the flock is reported to be on the rise and there is a growing number of producers who would like to reduce their shearing intervals to eight or nine months, is becoming a lively topic.
Kyneton contractor and one-time gun shearer John Conlan says many producers could help by looking at the condition of their shearing shed.
"Some sheds should have a match put to them. Conditions in some sheds are terrible and unsafe," John said.
Romsey shearer of five years Jason Seddon said: "You have to love your work and the shearing life.
"It is certainly a good way to pay off a mortgage."
But unlike many of his colleagues Jason doesn't mind a full year of shearing.
To do that he shears back in his home district of Yass and after his current stint in central Victoria, he will go to Tasmania.
Darren Templeton, head of the Shearing Contractors of Australia Association, which conducts Victoria's shearing training, says 69 per cent or 90 of the 130 students who completed a two-week school were still shearing.
Stuart Grigg, one of SCAA's instructors who helps in post-school training, believes there is a big pool of untapped shearer talent in the secondary schools.
"These are year 11 boys who love the outdoor life and who don't want to go on to year 12," he said.
But unlike in previous years when many small producers were reluctant to take on a learner shearer, Stuart says they now had no option if they wanted their sheep shorn.
