Chloe Curr is no stranger to the simple pleasures and exciting opportunities the beef industry has to offer.
Growing up on Arizona Station in north west Queensland, the 20-year-old has sat on the tail of countless mobs of cattle, put thousands of head through the yards, and been exposed to many of the breeds that thrive in the northern pastoral system.
But it’s the Angus breed Chloe’s most passionate about; something that’s abundantly clear when she talks about the decision to start her own stud, Arizona Angus.
“Angus cattle are so versatile, and they suit many conditions, even performing well in our northern country,” she said.
“They are good to put across a range of other breeds, good breeders with a beautiful temperament, have great weight gain and are a natural poll, and obviously their consistency in the market is super favourable.”
Being involved in all facets of her parents’ commercial operation has fostered a great love for cattle and a keen eye for top-performing animals.
“They have always aimed for quality, but they’ve never really gotten into the registered side of things,” Chloe said.
“When I started to develop an interest in Angus cattle and looking at the genetics, my dad directed me to Hamish Thompson, who is an Angus breeder from around Coolah, and he taught me what he knows about the breed.”
Armed with this knowledge, Chloe and Hamish made the trip to the Southern Highlands of New South Wales for the Circle 8 30-year anniversary sale last year.
There, she purchased two females to be the foundation of her stud.
Sired by GB Fireball 672 and out of Circle 8 E11 Rosebud L122, the now two-year-old Circle 8 Rosebud S504 has produced a heifer calf by Millah Murrah Paratrooper P15.
Completing Chloe’s stable was unjoined heifer Circle 8 Rosebud S667, who was also out of Circle 8 E11 Rosebud L122 and sired by HPCA Proceed.
“I cannot fault them,” she said.
“Their EBVs were amazing, so was their temperament, and they’re just such nice cows to look at.”
The next step for the young stud master is to undertake an embryo program.
“I have 25 recip cows lined up and I’m going to flush those Circle 8 heifers with Ced Wise and just slowly build up my herd numbers,” Chloe said.
“It’s a long process, but I’m glad I have that foundation with those two heifers, and I’ll be so excited to get some more calves on the ground.”
Circle 8 stud principal Jeremy Cooper has also helped Chloe get her foot in the door of the stud game by gifting her 12 embryos he had in storage.
“Jeremy has been super generous and I’m really grateful,” Chloe said.
“I’m still learning, and Jeremy has been such a great help by giving me tips, which I’m really appreciative of because not everyone wants to share their secrets.
“I do have big plans for the future, and this helps me get there.”
Handing over the embryos was a "no brainer" for Jeremy.
“The full siblings of the females those embryos will create would be grandmothers in our herd,” he said.
“They’re out of one of our really solid foundation donor cows, Circle 8 2928 Rosebud C234, whose great granddaughters are some of the feature lots in our sale this year.
“We’ve gone past those embryos in our breeding program now, but for a young person that’s starting out in the stud game, they’re still relevant to the industry and they’ve proven their worth in our herd.”
Chloe aims to build her herd to at least 200 breeders, with plans to one day move them from her parents’ place at Pittsworth, to their property at Barcaldine.
“Barcaldine, with a good year of rainfall - which we’ve been very fortunate to receive in the past few years - is as good a country as you’ll get, an amazing central location and I think a stud Angus herd would run really well there,” she said.
Chloe’s aim is to breed a quality moderate-framed cow, with strong commercial relevance.
That high quality and commercial relevance is also what keeps Robert Mackenzie of Macka’s Australian Black Angus Beef, Gloucester, NSW, coming back to the Circle 8 sale year after year.
In 2022, he paid $140,000 for Circle 8 Rosebud S669, setting a record for the highest-priced unjoined yearling Angus heifer to be sold at auction.
A daughter of HPCA Proceed, out of Circle 8 E11 Rosebud L122, the purchase of the now 19-month-old was part of the family’s commitment to building a powerful commercial female herd.
“To do that, we need some of Australia’s best genetics,” Robert said.
“We’ve found over the past few years that Jeremy and Carmen from Circle 8 are one of those studs that are kicking goals, so we’re hungry to have some of their genetics in our operation.”
After taking a small number of embryos from Rosebud and transplanting them into donor cows, the record-breaking heifer was artificially inseminated to Texas Iceman R725.
“Rosebud will strengthen not only our stud operation, but also the genetics in our commercial operation,” Robert said.
Producing beef for retail, restaurant groups and some of the best chefs in the world, the Macka’s operation sees 3500 commercial Angus breeders run on almost 7000 hectares across eight properties.
“We understand the whole supply chain from paddock to plate and really feel that Rosebud epitomises what is required in that supply chain,” Robert said.
“Our commercial female sale is another reason we are so committed to having some of Australia’s best genetics.
“People put trust in our females, and they want them for their operation, so having leading females like Rosebud is part of our commitment to our customers that when they purchase replacement heifers for their operation, they are getting some of those industry-leading genetics.”
The Mackenzie family’s drive to own Australia’s best Angus genetics hasn’t slowed following their big purchase in 2022.
In fact, they’ll be back in action at the upcoming Circle 8 heifer sale “looking for the next best female”.
This year, Circle 8 will offer the complete ‘T’ drop of their heifer line.
The 54 ready-to-join heifers will go under the hammer on April 27 on-property at Tangryang, Marulan, NSW, and the sale will be interfaced by AuctionsPlus.
This article is sponsored content in partnership with Circle 8.