Rodney & Judie Bell
Rodney and Judie Bell and their family grow 6000 Merino and Merino X sheep at Kingscote on
Kangaroo Island just off the mainland of South Australia, below Adelaide. Kangaroo Island is known
for its diverse wildlife and nature reserves, with kangaroos, wallabies, koalas and many bird species.
The Bell family have been farming at Kingscote forever (to use their word) and still love the
challenge.
“We love working in nature and with animals. You learn something every day. You might as well give
up if you are not learning”, they say.
The Bell farm is a family run business, with all their kids at home working on the farm and forming a
big part of their successful business. Also part of the family are their Kelpie working dogs, an integral
part of life on the sheep farm.
Q. What does it mean to you to know who is wearing your wool?
A. With grain you can see the finished products (i.e. Timtams!) and receive feedback on it. This has
not historically been the same for wool. Its frustrating to NOT know what happens to the product
when it leaves the farm. We receive no feedback. With the AWN DNA program all of that has now
changed. For the first time we are seeing the end result of our hard work. Its great! Now we see
farming on Kangaroo Island as a bonus, not a disadvantage. Its a unique place to live and work, and
we can share that with everybody through the DNA progam.
Q. What would you like to say to the person wearing your wool?
A. How do you like it? We love to hear the feedback from consumers. We think MerinoSnug is a
fantastic product. Great to see it branded as Kangaroo Island Wool too. We live in paradise and want
to share that as much as possible.