Kingston Farm wins Zegna Wool Trophy

WOOLGROWER Simon Cameron is living proof that Tasmania remains at the centre of global
fine wool production – and is likely to stay there.
Mr Cameron and his Kingston Farm at Conara in the Northern Midlands have won the 2025
Zegna Wool Trophy.
Established in 1963, the awards honour the best wool producers in Australia.
This year, Kingston Farm beat New South Wales farms Hillcreston Park and Stoneleigh –
which finished in second and third place – for the top prize.
“In the last five years, we’ve won the competition twice, and we’ve come second three
times – so that’s a record that’s hard to match,” Mr Cameron said.
Two other Tasmanian farms – Macquarie Hills in the Midlands and Kelvedon on the East
Coast – also finished in the top 10 this year.
Mr Cameron’s family has run Kingston Farm since 1905, producing superfine wool from
Merino sheep.
He said winning the 2025 Zegna Wool Trophy was a team effort.
“It’s the outcome of a whole range of things: from the breeding of the sheep, looking after
them, the wool harvesting, the classing – and I’m really lucky to have the support and
assistance of some really good people,” Mr Cameron said.
“It’s a great advertisement for what can be done in Tasmania, and in particular, Tasmanian
wool.”
Mr Cameron said he believed Tasmanian wool could be more widely used globally.
“As wool growers we need to be on the front foot with this.
“We need to work with big overseas brands, and we really need to get representatives of
these organisations down here to Tasmania and on to the farms to see what we do – because
once they see what we do, it all clicks.”
He also believed Tasmania could differentiate itself from the rest of the Australian wool
clip.
“The Australian wool clip is a bit on the nose in Europe and other places because of animal
welfare issues,” Mr Cameron said.
“In Tassie, we’re the leading state in terms of issues like ceasing mulesing.
“And when we pitch it correctly – if we use Tasmanian wool, as opposed to Australian wool
– we can take advantage of the proactive way wool growers in Tassie have addressed this
issue, which is important to our customers.
“We do need to listen to our customers, and in Tassie, this is happening across the
spectrum with growers large and small.”
However, the industry has had a tough few years, with Mr Cameron saying that wool prices
have dropped by about 40 per cent since 2022.
“Prices are down, probably because there’s pressure all the way through the supply chain.
“Finding a solution is not just a matter of going to the Italian processors – or other
processors in other parts of the world – and saying ‘we want more money for our wool’ it’s
not that simple.
“All those guys are under pressure themselves, so we’ve got to find different ways of
generating revenue.”
Mr Cameron also said there were issues around supply and demand.
“We supply mainly into the luxury sector of wool and apparel, and there just isn’t sufficient
demand for the wool that seems to be available – even though the amount of wool
production in Australia as a whole is declining.
“Maybe the price is something that will lift, but I don’t think we should sit around and wait
for that to happen.
“I think we’ve got to generate additional revenue streams out of what we do, and one of
those is selling the way we do what we do here in Tasmania.”
Wool from Kingston sheep is used in clothing manufacturered by MJ Bale, which bases its
operations on provenance and working with the world’s most ethical natural fibre producers
at their place of origin.
Since 2015 MJ Bale has worked with the conservationist, carbon positive-accredited
Kingston farm on “single-source” tailoring created entirely from Kingston wool.
The company returns a percentage of every Kingston sale to the farm to be reinvested into
projects that enhance local biodiversity and the natural values.
Kingston wool is also distributed to Italian mill Vitale Barberis Canonico, which produces
high-end fabric and trades on its commitment to sustainability and “green” credentials.