00:0017-year-old Darcy King is a novice wool handler. She's one of many competing teenagers hoping
00:07their abilities will grow into a career in wool.
00:11I feel like I'll definitely have something in the agriculture and sheep industry, but
00:15yeah, because I've been growing up my whole life in the sheep industry, but I don't really
00:19know, see where it takes me.
00:21While a long-term goal is to become a full-time farmer, Darcy King wants to be a full-time
00:27While a life in wool is still attracting young recruits, the West Australian sheep industry
00:33is battling to remain viable. Wool, a long-time staple of farm income, is suffering collateral
00:39damage from the end of the live sheep trade.
00:43Lots of farmers are stopping their livestock and just going straight to crop, so it means
00:49less shearers that are needed, less jobs.
00:53Experienced wool workers are worried what the future will hold for the trade, which
00:58has supported country towns for generations.
01:01Talking to farmers in the last month, there's a lot of people still getting out of sheep
01:05that just, with the live export and the price of wool, it's not viable to farm sheep at
01:12the moment in WA. It's very hard.
01:15But despite the downturn, there's still optimism the wool industry will continue to grow.
01:22We're trying to create pathways for younger people to come in and take it on as a full-time
01:26job, not just a seasonal work. We really want to make this a career.
01:31There's always a future for any good shearer. That's the same as wool handlers. I think
01:38in general the quality of shearing will pick up around the place as well.
01:41The national competition moves to South Australia next year.
01:51For more UN videos visit www.un.org
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