AWN Tamara Pabst, wool technical officer at AWN, has taken out the title of the National Council of Wool Selling Brokers of Australia (NCWSBA) Wool Broker Award for 2024.
The award, established in 2012, encourages newer members of the industry and promotes excellence in all aspects of wool broking while promoting broking and the industry as a prospective career for young people. The awards also helps raise the profile of, and increase the understanding of, the important role of wool brokers.
A graduate of the highly regarded Bachelor of Agriculture at Melbourne University’s Dookie campus, Ms Pabst worked at Dookie College farm for a year after graduating before moving to a merino stud near Benalla in Victoria. It was there that she homed her knowledge of stud stock for the next three and a half years, before joining the team at AWN as a wool technical officer two and a half years ago. During that time, Ms Pabst has built relationships with clients across North-East Victoria and the Riverina in New South Wales.
When she isn’t on-farm with clients, or attending the weekly wool sales in Melbourne, Ms Pabst can be found at home on the farm, where she and her partner Stuart run 500 merinos.
Working on-farm and studying has provided Ms Pabst with a wide skill set, both technical and practical.
“My technical skills include typing samples with AWEX-IDs, preparing and valuing catalogues each week, as well as auctioneering on sale day. My background working on a sheep stud has provided me with a good foundation and knowledge of sheep genetics and ram selection and I’m confident in the ins and outs of breeding values and assisting clients in using them to their advantage,’’ she said.
Ms Pabst also manages the audits and accreditations for the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) in the southern region, both through New Zealand Merino (NZM) and the G Schneider Authentico RWS program.
Ms Pabst said that there were five participants in the Wool Broker Award training program, with four of the five applying to be considered as finalists in the competition. Of the four, three progressed to the final round which was held at NCWSBA AGM at Wool Week in Melbourne.
“There was strong competition from my fellow finalists, including my colleague Andrew Holgate, so it is truly an honour to have been recognised as the winner of the 2024 Wool Broker Award, ” Ms Pabst said.
Ms Pabst said that she would encourage any young wool broker to apply to be part of the Wool Brokers Award competition.
“I learnt so much from the program, from presentation and active listening skills to a greater understanding of the off-farm processes from our visits to the AWTA testing laboratory and visiting the ABMP Textiles circular knitting factory in Melbourne. All of this has helped home my skills as a wool broker, and I am excited to have been given the opportunity to participate in the program.
“For me, something I have found in my time as a wool broker so far, and something that was definitely highlighted to me throughout this program, is that no two clients are the same. You can’t apply a cookie-cutter approach and expect to get the best results for your client. My approach has always been to understand what my client’s needs are, and then tailor my approach to ensure that I am delivering the best possible results for them not only today, but also in years to come.”
Ms Pabst expressed her appreciation for the opportunity to compete in the Wool Brokers Award, and to be able to continue to develop her industry knowledge.
“I would like to thank the NCWSBA for providing young wool brokers with access to such a fantastic development program, along with all the organisers and industry experts who gave their time to ensure that we had the best possible learning experience. Thank you to the sponsors, Sheep Central and AWTA for their generous support of this event.
“I would also like to thank John Colley, Ben Stace, Kelvin Shelley, and Peter Bryne for nominating me on behalf of AWN and for their guidance and mentorship, along with all my colleagues who have supported me since joining AWN. Thank you also to everyone who has helped me along the way for passion that you have instilled in me for the Australian agricultural and wool industry.”
As the winner of this years’ Award, Ms Pabst has won a trip to the 2025 IWTO Conference in Paris to connect with the people from across the wool supply chain and to learn more about the challenges and opportunities in the wool industry on a global scale.
