St George teenager off to a mighty start with new stud build-up

St George teenager Cameron Hams is taking his first steps into the world of Droughtmaster cattle breeding with the recent purchase of his second female for his own stud.

Attending the Cream of the Crop Droughtmaster female sale near Kingaroy last Saturday, the 13-year-old grade eight student successfully purchased lot 80, Eversleigh Ruby, a 14-month-old homozgyous polled Droughtmaster heifer for $6000.

The heifer was sold by Jenny and Roger Underwood of Underwood Grazing Co. and is sired by Tomawill Eastwood, out of a first-calf heifer, Eversleigh Precious.

The purchase marked an important milestone for Cameron, who started My Mighty Droughtmaster Stud just a few weeks ago.

"I just liked (Eversleigh Ruby), especially the way she looked. She's got a good structure and a nice underneath," Mr Hayes told the Queensland Country Life.

Raised on his family's property, Cooly, near St George, Cameron has been involved in the cattle industry from a young age, helping his parents manage their 13,000-acre property.

He has always had a passion for Droughtmaster cattle and hopes to expand his breeding operation in the coming years.

"I've been working with cattle my whole life," Mr Hams said.

"I've always been interested in the breeding side of things.

"My dad runs a stud, Cooly Droughtmasters, and I wanted to see what it was like to have one myself."

Cameron's first foray into stud breeding came just a few weeks ago when he purchased his first heifer, Semloh Madonna, a 15-month-old unjoined heifer, at the Diamond Genetics sale in Boonah for $3500.

Looking ahead, Cameron plans to grow his herd and add more females to his My Mighty Droughtmaster stud.

He plans to join his new heifers with his father's sires and continue building numbers.

"I'll definitely be going back to Boonah next year to buy another heifer or two. I want to keep adding to my herd and see how they perform," he said.

While Cameron is focused on building his cattle stud, he also has future plans outside of farming.

After finishing school, he hopes to pursue a career as a boilermaker or mechanic but will continue to manage his cattle operation on the side.

For now, Cameron is focused on growing his Droughtmaster herd and learning as much as he can from his parents and other breeders.

"I think Droughtmasters are a really good breed for the market, and I want to see where I can take my stud in the future," he said.