Simmental cattle in Chelsea's blood
Chelsea Rayner's passion for Simmental cattle runs in her blood.
The 22-year-old is on a small block near Beulah in north west Tasmania, running Simmental and Shorthorn cattle.
Miss Rayner established her Kidman Downs stud, which has about 25 head, in 2013 and her sister Sarah started the Shorthorn stud in 2015.
"My grandfather, father and uncle had always used Simmental bulls so when I started showing through the school program I was drawn to them, and my family has been incredibly supportive with the studs."
Miss Rayner's goal is to increase stud numbers, but it's difficult to find the space for more cattle.
"We have 56 acres (23 hectares) on my father's property, and it's hard to find country in Tasmania. It's highly productive country but there's not quite enough to expand."
She also hopes to become a livestock agent, focusing on seedstock. At the moment she also works part-time at Royston Shorthorns, doing general farm work and show preparation.
Miss Rayner shows regularly, and is starting to get some experience as a judge.
"I was associate judge with Robert Hutchinson for the Red Angus and Simmental national sale at Dubbo and it was such an eye opener to judge there," she said.
"It can be hard, being from Tasmania, to get those opportunities on the mainland."
Early start in stud world for Brodhi
Brodhi Carracher is only 24, but he already has a stud of about 100 breeders and is getting ready to start his first position as a graduate vet.
Mr Carracher started Grangeburn Simmentals, based at Wannon, Vic, as an 18-year-old in 2013, with genetics from Woonallee, Wormbete and Valley Creek studs.
"I've imported some embryos from Canada this year, so I'll have about 20 recipients, 80 Simmental cows and about 20 SimAngus," he said.
Mr Carracher has been at university in Adelaide for the past six years, but having a job at Warnambool brings him closer to the herd, which is run alongside his parents' 150-head commercial operation with Angus and SimAngus cattle.
"I went to a few Simmental sales and I liked the powerful cattle with a lot of muscle," Mr Carracher said.
"I like Herefords for fat cover and Charolais for muscle, but the Simmentals had the maternal ability with heaps of milk, great fat cover for a European breed, and the growth I was looking for."
When the stud began Mr Carracher used mostly Australian bloodlines but he now sources genetics from JB Livestock in Canada.
He currently sells about 10 bulls a year, but hopes to increase that and eventually have an on property sale.
"I needed to find some different bloodlines, outcross genetics that will still suit Australian cattle," he said.
"I flushed six donors from over there and those calves are being born in April."
