[MEDIA ALERT] Youngest competitors take out prestigious Australian Wool Innovation young Merino sheep and fleece judge national titles

Championship judge Matt Fiebig awarded 17-year-old Victoria's Tiffany Maestrale the national champion title in a field of talented young assessors of Merino sheep at the Royal Adelaide Show; while in the fleece judging competition 16-year-old Olivia Baker took home the trophy for Tasmania. 

"I don't come from a Merino farm; I got into sheep through school. Experiencing all the different wool types and everything about them is a highlight of the competition," Tiffany said.

"My passion for the agricultural industry deepened at school, where I proudly captained our sheep showing team. This role gave me hands-on experience and a lasting appreciation for animal husbandry and rural life," Tiffany said.

Runner up Jock Johnstone from Longford in Tasmania lives on a sheep and mixed cropping farm and is completing Year 12. 

"It's quite a trek to get here from Tasmania, and there were some great people competing so it feels good to place," Jock said. 

His interest in sheep sparked his involvement in judging just last year - and it's already paid off with a win at his favourite event, the Campbell Town Show, and now the national runner up title. 

Third place was awarded to South Australian competitor Emi Hughes, 23, Sampson Flat.

Emi is a full-time physics PhD student at the University of Adelaide. She helps manage her family's stud sheep at home and competes in dog agility trials with her Border Collie on weekends. 

"I've grown up on my family's sheep stud, breeding Poll Dorsets and Texels, which sparked my passion for livestock at a young age," Emi said.

The Merino Sheep and Merino Fleece Judging final are sponsored by Australian Wool Innovation (AWI), a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to research, development, and marketing across the global supply chain for Australian wool. 

Backed by approximately 60,000 woolgrowers who contribute to its funding, AWI works to advance and promote the wool industry.

The same afternoon saw the national Merino fleece judging finalists compete with Tasmania's Olivia Baker taking the win ahead of New South Wales competitor Miranda McGufficke. 

Olivia Baker, 16, Oatlands is a Year 11 student who works in shearing sheds as a wool handler while completing a Cert 4 Wool Classing at TAFE. She began competing in the Young Judges competition in 2024 at Campbell Town Show in Tasmania to gain experience in judging fleece and meat sheep - and was instantly hooked. 

"It means so much; it just gives me more opportunities in life," Olivia said after her national win. 

"I'm doing wool classing at the moment and handling wool every day; that and my training really helped me," Olivia said.

Olivia enjoys helping her Pop on the farm, crediting his love of agriculture as one of her biggest motivations. 

"I have always loved being on the farm with my grandfather and learning from him, he has been a huge inspiration to me and I will be forever grateful for his knowledge and what he has passed onto me."

Runner-up was awarded to 24-year-old Miranda McGufficke of Cooma, who manages genomic data for her family's seedstock business and recently completed a Bachelor of Animal Science at the University of New England. She's now working on a remote NT cattle station as part of a graduate program with an agricultural investment group. 

"For me, this award signifies the start of a very long and inspiring career in the industry. I want to go back and encourage more women to become passionate about the Merino industry. But more importantly, just encourage them to push themselves out of their comfort zone," Miranda said.

 A lifelong show supporter, Miranda grew up entering cooking and wool exhibits with her grandfather and now volunteers alongside her sisters running entertainment, school art projects, and the farmers challenge. 

"My advice for anyone getting started is to learn from people that are doing better than you and reach out to mentors that will be there the whole way through the journey."

Libby Hardingham, 19, Kojonup represented Western Australia and was awarded third place. Libby spent her childhood helping out on her grandparent's farm and later worked on a family friends' farm, where she helped with stud and commercial sheep work. Libby's in her second year of a Bachelor of Agricultural Science at Murdoch University and hopes to become a livestock vet in the agricultural industry. She credits her agricultural teacher for shaping her love of the young judges competition. 

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