Our Story

Modern Merino is the product of years of experience in modern-age farming, caring for the environment and a desire to educate on the benefits of Merino wool and the symbiotic relationship it can have with nature. We have been breeding the highest quality non-mulesed Merino sheep and in 2022, decided to use our Merino wool to produce the finest and most luxurious Merino scarves, Merino wool wraps, Merino baby blankets, and Merino throws. While dedicating ourselves to caring for our sheep with the utmost amount of respect, along with the natural environment they live in.

How Modern Merino Began

Modern Merino’s sister business, Atkinson Livestock, has been breeding Merino sheep since 1985. Atkinson Livestock is not a generational farm, so everything has had to be learned from scratch. This has been a great advantage to provide direction for the business from day one. The core values were and still are, to be caring towards all animals domesticated or not, to continually improve the natural environment on our farms and to produce the highest quality Merino wool possible. In 2021, Chris and Tarlee (who run both businesses) had the idea of creating luxury products that were traceable back to our farms, so that people could be confident in buying a top quality product that they know was produced ethically and sustainably. Only a year later, Modern Merino was born in 2022.

Where We Came From

Peter and Sue Atkinson started farming in 1985 after returning from living in Kenya and Tanzania for some time. A small block of land was purchased in the Adelaide Hills and 200 Merino wethers were purchased from the Mt Pleasant sale yards. Over the years more land has been added, including a farm on the beautiful nature's paradise of Kangaroo Island.

Now, the entire operation consists of around 2000ha. Peter and Sue’s son Chris, along with his wife Tarlee would eventually take over the running of the farms. Always wanting to improve and further the family business, Modern Merino came to be the next step in their family farming journey.

Early Days

Being the new kids on the block, it has been quite a journey so far and we are so excited to be a part of this amazing industry. To see the final product of our years of breeding for the future and hard work has been incredibly rewarding. We hope more and more people can share this experience with us of having a luxury quality Merino scarf, Merino wrap, Merino baby blanket or Merino throw and knowing where it came from.

What the Future Holds

We have some big plans for the future, you will start to see us at field days, baby expo’s with our Merino baby blankets among other trade type shows and markets. We are also talking with different retailers, so you may even see us in a shop near you soon! We are dedicated to staying 100% Australian Made and will be expanding our woven lines of products as we grow. We are also hoping to get some knits, such as beanies and Jumpers. We are planning to grow while also maintaining our core values of caring for our sheep and improving the environment around us.