“Farming will take your soul!!” it’s with this greeting and their trademark enthusiasm that John and Isabelle welcome us to Maitland, a world rich with history, and respect for the environment and animals. Their passion for wool has grown so much as to become their everyday, providing a sustainable path to tread together and the right environment to raise their children.

John, 44, has always lived on the family farm run by his father. After taking on a career as a commercial deep sea diver for a number of years, he felt such a strong call back to his roots he gave it all up to return to the farm and look after it with his wife, alongside his father, dedicating his time to breeding sheep while preserving and protecting the land.

His wife Isabelle, 47, has been his companion throughout a journey that brings them closer to the environment and the animals day after day. Isabelle’s background in environmental chemistry has given her the right knowledge to look for constantly new and improved ways to innovate in a sustainable manner. At Maitland, scientific studies and surveys are conducted on a regular basis in order to guarantee the best conditions for the entire ecosystem.

Upon chatting to Isabelle, it is clear how farm life comes with a great deal of satisfaction, commitment and responsibilities; animal welfare and the lush beauty of the land are her main rewards.“I get great satisfaction from seeing around me happy people, healthy animals, beautiful landscapes and knowing that I have fulfilled my responsibilities. I am immensely proud of how the farm has grown around us and of how the business strives from enhancing the natural values of the land on which it depends. I am passionate about wool because it is such a versatile natural fiber with so many uses and benefits but also because it continues to outperform so many modern alternatives. The quality of the fiber truly shows how well the wool grower has read the variations in the environment and understood how the physiology of the sheep would react. All along, it is about ensuring the animal is healthy and fit and well for all of its natural lifetime.”

The boundless beauty of Maitland is something Isabelle and John take pride in, testament to a life dedicated to sustainable breeding and teaching their children how to truly respect the animals, the environment and its precious resources.“There is no typical day on a farm! Everything depends on the weather – the only sure thing is that animals and plants need to be checked and fed and watered… and that some piece of equipment or other will need maintenance or repair! Life here goes on according to seasons.”

For John and Isabelle, sustainability is a true way of life, providing them with the tools and structure that guides them on a daily basis throughout everything they do. Winners of the latest Reda Sustainability Award, the Woolmasters have turned their deep respect for the environment into a bona fide signature: “Sustainability for us means managing the ecosystem within our boundaries so that we can provide for our needs and those of our family in a way that does not deplete any resources and produces minimum waste. So we work to maintain and improve the natural environment of our farm and ensure that our activities, commercial or other, have a positive impact on the landscape, the biodiversity, the community.”

At Maitland, respect for the environment goes hand in hand with love of the animals and special attention is paid to natural resources with a view to protect their untamed beauty: “We work closely with environmental experts and adjust our farming activities to find the perfect balance between profit and planet. At “The Forest” the covenant is in perpetuity, so that the primordial forest will be preserved forever. We still have sheep graze it, but at lower rates so that it regenerates naturally. At the end of day though, sustainability is about adaptability in a constantly evolving environment. That depends on information and relies on innovation.”

Their attachment to “ethical animal management” transpires through John and Isabelle’s words, which capture the spirit with which the Woolmasters manage the farm day after day: “Gratitude towards the land and towards the animal. Animal welfare is in the forefront of your mind. We moved to “non-mulesing” years ago and we are always looking for improvements. At the end of the day it is hard to sleep at night if the animals haven’t been treated correctly. It is really hard to stay farming if suffering is around you.”

Passion, dedication and deep respect for the environment are the core values John and Isabelle teach their children on a daily basis an invaluable heritage that sets Maitland apart as an outstanding example of harmonious living between man, nature and its precious resources.