Hallora young buck who set up his own stud at 15 stars at World Angus Forum

A young Hallora farmer who left school at 15 is set to be one of the stars at the World Angus Forum in Brisbane this week.

Matt Heywood set up his Dernancourt Angus stud in 2021 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and has since built up his numbers to 50 breeders.

The cattle-mad youngster is set to mingle with some of the best Angus farmers from around the world at the global forum on Thursday and Friday, just a month after turning 20.

A surprise phone call last year while marking calves saw Mr Heywood invited to participate in the forum's World Angus Youth Competition.

The contest, which kicked off last week in Sydney, involved a tour of Angus farms across Bathurst, NSW, and Tamworth, NSW, before landing in Brisbane.

Two teams will go head to head across the farm tours and the forum event and will be judged on their cattle showing abilities, live animal and carcase judging, farm tasks, debating, public speaking and networking abilities.

Mr Heywood's team, the Southern Cross Barbarians, will see another Australian Angus farmer Sophie Halliday, Goulburn, NSW, and two farmers from Indonesia, join him.

The team of four will compete against a second team of two New Zealanders, a breeder from the Czech Republic and an Irish farmer.

Mr Heywood said from the moment he arrived through the hotel door in Sydney last week to join his teammates, the competition had been the opportunity of a lifetime.

He said it had "100 per cent" broadened his horizons for a future in Angus breeding.

"It's mind-blowing speaking to other producers from all over the world," he said.

Mr Heywood said he was learning about Angus genetics and farming in the US, Canada, Argentina, Asia and Europe.

He said there was so much to take in, but he was giving the competition his best shot.

Giving it his all is an approach the young farmer has also taken to his own stud operation.

While the Heywood family has been running Angus cattle for 100 years, his jump into stud breeding occurred of its own accord.

Mr Heywood researched some of the best genetics in Australia and around the world for a year and saved up enough money to purchase his first females when he was 15.

"I felt I could do something a bit different and focused on the phenotype," he said.

"I just jumped in head first."

He said while Angus' performance figures were important, his approach to breeding top stock was by looking at "phenotype above all else".

"The data is all good and all, but if the animal can't express what the data says, that's no good," he said.

Mr Heywood calves the majority of his cows in the spring, with a few autumn calvers and sold bulls privately.

He is culling hard on his heifer lines to tighten up the quality of his cattle, and only the best calves are left as potential bulls for sale.

His passion, youth and excellent quality bulls have kept customers coming.

Mr Heywood said he had been able to sell all his bulls so far without a cent spent on advertising.

"I think a lot of people do like supporting me as a young person," he said.

"It's about treating them as people and not just bull buyers."

The journey into Angus stud breeding was an unexpected one, according to Mr Heywood, who said he was more of an indoors kid when he was younger.

His passion started when he was 14 years old, and he took to the cattle like a duck to water.

"Cows are fun to look at and play with," he laughed.

"I wouldn't have it any other way now.

"It's a lifestyle that you can't get from any other industry."

For now, Mr Heywood said he would bide his time, slowly building up his stud numbers and continuing to look after his existing and future clients.

"I don't want to grow too big too quickly," he said.