Export orders a big boost for Red Angus

David Hobbs, manager of BST Tullatoola Red Angus stud at Molong and a former Red Angus Society of Australia president, co-ordinated the order.

"I rang every member (of the society) in NSW and we ended up getting enough numbers - I thought it would be a very good thing for the breed," he said.

One Victorian breeder who provided registered commercial females to the order was paid $1.55 a kilogram (liveweight) for them in the domestic commercial market but had received the equivalent of $5/kg as part of this order, according to Mr Hobbs.

"If people can get that sort of money then they have more to spend and put into the breed, which helps everybody."

Heifers were required to be between seven and 14 months old for the order and had to be performance recorded and part of Breedplan.

"Some of the heifers were 180 kilograms and sold for $1100 a head - that's good money considering the dry and lack of water," Mr Hobbs said.

He said the buyers in Kazakhstan preferred Red Angus over anything else and, as long as Australian breeders could provide the numbers, the order would sustain markets.

Red Angus Society of Australia technical officer Christian Duff, Armidale, conducted the certification of the females for the order and said it was a great opportunity for commercial breeders.

"We picked up some commercial breeders who had registered their females and, in doing so, achieved a premium for their females," he said.

Mr Duff said it had encouraged breeders to register their cattle as well as take part in Breedplan and performance record their females, with the premium justifying the extra work required for this.

"Even high quality commercial females wouldn't get that type of premium in a typical market here," he said.

Commercial breeders participating in Breedplan and performance recording was an "indirect spin-off" for the society as well according to Mr Duff, who said any extra data and information they could offer their members was always a benefit.