Mallee Merino breeders continue family's dyed in the wool showing tradition

Mallee Merino breeders Carolyn and Grant Johnson don't do things by halves, entering 40 premature shorn fleeces in the wool section of the 2025 Royal Adelaide Show.

And they have been rewarded, winning most successful wool exhibitor for two years in a row and a remarkable eight years as the most successful premature shorn exhibitor.

The Peake woolgrowers could be forgiven for scaling back their numbers due to one of their worst seasons ever, but they actually have a few more than last year.

"Like most farmers, we have done the best we can to look after our sheep as best we can and while there has been more dirt in the wool, it has tested up well," Mr Johnson said.

Mrs Johnson has fond childhood memories of searching in the little red brick pavilion at the show that housed the wool for the fleeces from her family's Allenville stud, based on the Yorke Peninsula.

She says they have continued this tradition with their daughter Elsie, entering wool and sheep from their Carcuma North Merino flock for a decade.

"Like a lot of things, we partially do what we do because we enjoy remembering the legacy of my Mum and Dad, Murray and Rose Allen, and the passion they had for the sheep and wool industry," she said.

Another motivation is ensuring the general public, especially those in the urban areas, get the opportunity to better understand agriculture and connect how raw commodities are produced from an animal or plant.

Mr Johnson - who has been a Merino steward for the past 10 years - says it is a great chance as people are looking at the wool to have conversations with them about how it is grown and shorn.

Mrs Johnson, who is an agriculture teacher at Lameroo Regional Community School, also had success in the school wether fleece competition, which continues to grow each year.

With a fleece from 2024, they had the champion school fleece for the second time in four years.

The 4.2 kilogram fleece, which tested 18.2 micron, was shorn from a Ridgway-blood Merino wether from the McMahon family, McPiggery. They donate the school's team of wethers each year.

"The school needs to be involved in the fleece and wether competition because it is a significant industry in their local area so it connects them to the industry, gives them a network for career pathways and job opportunities," Mrs Johnson said.