Since its establishment in 2013, the fund has raised $3.7 million through private donations. It’s now supporting 15 Midlands farmers to protect 7500 hectares of high conservation value land, about 20% of which are on Kingston.
For Simon, the agreement hasn’t drastically changed how he manages his land but it has helped make his low-impact approach to farming more sustainable in the long-term.
“When you’re looking after land or growing wool, you can’t just keep feeding the machine – it doesn’t have to give you huge returns, but it’s got to pay for itself,” says Simon.
The MCF payments will allow him to bring in additional labour and machinery to help with activities such as woody weed control, revegetation, cool-season burning and erosion control. In dry times, they will also give him the flexibility to reduce his stocking rate and to bring in extra feed to reduce grazing pressure on the native grasslands.
Aside from being good for the environment, Simon’s careful land management has also proven good for business; his wool is now considered some of the finest in the country.
“Our best wool comes from the native country,” says Simon. “It’s clean, so you don’t get seed and dust in the wool, and it’s also consistent feed, which gives a better fibre.”
Five years ago, at a woolgrowers dinner in Sydney, Simon found himself seated next to Matt Jensen, owner of Australian menswear brand M.J Bale, who saw something in the Kingston story that he thought his customers would like.