In recent media reports a livestock systems analyst contested the Australian sheep industry was facing a crisis in size and would soon reach a point where it would be unsafe to manage sheep by hand.

Phil Graham from the NSW Department of Primary Industries told ABC selective breeding had increased the size of mature female sheep by a factor of 15 per cent in the past 20 years.

TAFE Western staff and students agreed the average weight of sheep being handled by shearers and farm employees had slightly increased in the past five years.

“We believe this is mainly due to the introduction of new meat breeds and better growth genetics into the production of prime lambs,” TAFE Western agriculture head teacher Geoff Bastian told the Daily Liberal.

He and colleague Frank Roberts say to counteract the increase in size it is important people in the industry use improved techniques to position and hold sheep for shearing.

Sheep should now be positioned in a more upright position for shearing so they are supporting more of their own body weight, which in turn places less strain on the shearer.

“TAFE Western continues to introduce these improved shearing techniques to all of its students,” Mr Bastian said.

“This ensures they have the skills and knowledge to be able to not only adapt but thrive when the industry experiences any changes.”

There had been suggestions that automatic sheep handlers would be a must in the future for shearing but the TAFE teachers noted the uptake had been limited.

They attributed this to cost of the machines and the loss of productivity compared to conventional shearing.

TAFE Western viewed the use of mechanical sheep handlers for general sheep husbandry as an effective way of overcoming the manual handling of heavy sheep for drenching, vaccinating and foot paring.

“We still have not seen the widespread use of this equipment in the industry even though basic sheep handlers are relatively cheap to buy,” Mr Bastian said.