Cliff and Maree Downey did not have a background in breeding cattle before establishing their Red Angus stud, but over the past seven years they have grabbed the bull by the horns.
The couple both had professional backgrounds before establishing Redgums on their 160-hectare Yambuna property.
Mr Downey said they had gradually increased their herd to 40 registered breeders, built off females purchased from the Jillangolo and Tullatoola studs.
He said Red Angus were chosen following reports that lighter coat colours had better heat tolerance than dark coats.
"We certainly saw that Angus is the way to go with eating quality, with the marbling really prominent with the carcase qualities," he said.
"With the harsh conditions that we've got we think that all red coated and light coloured cattle probably have an advantage in the hot areas of the country.
"We also heard from other breeders - Red Angus breeders - that docility, maternal qualities, calving ease, a lot of those were features."
Vets also regarded the breed as very quiet, and it was something he had found with his herd too.
The cattle were also proving to be good doers.
"The other one I think is feed conversion, we've really noticed that the cattle do well," he said.
"In fact a lot of our neighbours comment on how well our cattle do over summer.
"We've only got limited irrigation here and it's mostly dry country."
The stud has been looking overseas for genetics, in particular from Canada and the US, where Red Angus are well regarded.
"What we have found with the Red Angus that we didn't really know is that the breed didn't really have a lot of traction in Australia," he said.
"In the US and Canada the reds are nearly half and half with the blacks in terms of numbers; reds are really well regarded.
"Canada's obviously a very cold, different climate but lots of parts of the US are very similar so more recently we've sourced genetics from areas in the US."
As well as researching and building contacts in the US to learn from their expertise, Mr Downey has also been influenced by renowned international cattle judge JP Budler.
"What he talks about is lanes, and he says with a lot of breeds, including the Black and Red Angus, you've got people breeding for the show circuit, and also you've got people breeding for the industry," he said.
"We're trying to do both, so we've got genetics in our herd associated with some of the really top show bulls from the US and Canada.
"More recently we've gone towards those that are in the top 1 per cent for marbling, top 1pc for calving ease, not necessarily birthweight but calving ease and also growth to try and get a little bit of a crossover there to get a mix up of our genetics.
"We've actually used a few of our own bulls across our own herd and so far it seems to be working but it's an interesting thing to do."
The Downeys have had plenty of success in the showring, with their bull Redgums Willy awarded the interbreed champion at the 2019 Sydney Royal Show.
Mr Downey said they had plans this year to take cattle to Melbourne and Canberra shows, and would also be supporting the Red Angus National Sale in June.
Last year their heifer was top price at the national sale and in 2019 their interbreed weaned bull was equal top-priced male.
Mr Downey said a range of cattle would be showcased when Redgums hosted its field day on January 27 as part of Stock & Land Beef Week, including two bulls by American sire Red Lazy MC Hollywood.
A month later, cattle will be offered at the new 'Must be Red' sale at Barnawatha on February 25.
He hoped the exposure would help promote the breed to industry, particularly for crossbreeding.
"Red Angus have done really well in the showring... it hasn't really carried over to the commercial side though," he said.
"So we hope for industry to have a really good look at the Red Angus that maybe haven't considered them before, although the agents are reporting quite a bit of interest.
"We're looking at with this sale and our open day to showcase bulls that are quite good for heifer bulls, they've got good growth and carcase but they've also got good estimated breeding values for calving ease and birthweight."