TASMANIAN stud producers Charles and Janet Wallace are the first to admit they do not mind a challenge.
First there are the competing demands of operating two beef studs - Murray Greys and Angus.
Then throw in the fact they almost exclusively use bulls in their stud - and not artificial insemination - and the deal gets a lot more complicated.
But the decision by the Wallaces to use only limited amounts of imported semen and instead rely on high-quality Australian bulls is starting to pay off, especially in their Angus herd.
More and more people are turning to the Woodbourn Angus stud.
They are attracted by the fact their genetics can offer an outcross to the small number of widely used international Angus sires, found in what Charles thinks is an alarmingly high number of stud pedigrees.
The Wallaces run their Murray Grey and Angus studs at Cressy, in Tasmania - the Murray Grey stud was founded in 1969 by Charles.
He was attracted to the breed by its ability to consistently produce the type of calf the market wanted - an animal which had excellent muscling, moderate frame, and quiet disposition.
Charles is the first to admit he is a Murray Grey diehard, and is adamant their strong carcass traits, alongside their quiet temperament, make them the ideal choice for Australia's breeders.
But he's a realist too.
When Tasmania's only major Japanese-owned feedlot stipulated it was going to take only Angus cattle, and there was the opportunity to buy Angus cows from a major herd dispersal in the state, the stars aligned.
So in 1990, the Woodbourn Angus stud was established.
And despite being relatively new to the Angus scene, Woodbourn is achieving averages close to or above the more established studs in the breed in Tasmania.
While there are huge challenges and sometimes different ones when aiming to produce the best of both of the breeds using bought-in sires, Charles said there were two factors he always stuck to.
The first was to inspect personally each new sire joining the herd.
Last year, Woodbourn spent $30,000 on a new Angus sire, Texas Dynamite E139.
"When commercial breeders are paying $8000-$12,000 for a bull to use in your herd, you have to lift your sights a bit," Charles said.
"But when you get an animal like this, which looks like a bull, and has figures to match, then it's the price you have to pay."
He keeps his focus, and encourages his clients to focus on structural characteristics first and then breedplan figures.
That is despite both studs having extensive Breedplan figures for all the bulls they offer.
"Soundness of body is the key aspect when buying a bull, and I expect buyers to do it (look at the bulls personally), like I expect to do it when I look at a bull," Charles said.
"Once you have the phenotype right, then you can look at the breedplan figures and make up your mind."
The physical characteristics of a bull go beyond soundness, though, and Charles said different styles of bulls suited different styles of herds.
"We don't breed extreme bulls here, but we do breed different styles of bulls, for the different herds," he said.
"Some things we are offering cannot be measured or assessed, but people know what they like and need."
The second factor Charles insisted on was to not follow trends blindly or take his studs in extreme directions.
He quoted the tendency of the Angus breed in the past 15 years to move towards a very large body-frame and high 600-day growth figures, which have led to some herds becoming inefficient.
"We like to breed a bull, whether it be Murray Grey or Angus, that is about a frame score 5 1/2 to 6 1/2, that can do a job for two or three markets," Charles said. "Then the producer has the chance of being able to supply the domestic market, the feedlot market or take it on to a bullock weight."
Despite being in Tasmania, the Woodbourn Angus and Murray Grey studs have a strong client base across Australia, especially for Murray Grey bulls.
"Bass Strait does probably put some buyers off, but it shouldn't and we have mainland clients who often get home from the sale after their bulls have been delivered," Charles said.
"We buy bulls in ourselves and they come on the ship, and they arrive looking like they just came out of the paddock.
"The trip on the ship is just not an issue."
Woodbourn even partly compensates for the cost of delivery of their bulls to all states of Australia, to make it even more attractive for buyers to make the effort to come to their Tasmanian-based studs.
Woodbourn will hold its Angus sale on April 17, and its Murray Grey sale on May 7, so there is a busy few weeks ahead preparing for the two fixtures.
But this cattle industry stalwart is as enthusiastic about the future of the industry as ever, and as excited about his new bull as if it was his first purchase.
He is also pleased the stud has been able to launch its website, woodbournstud.com.au, which Charles said had to be easy to get around and for people to find information.
"People don't have the time - they want the information and we thought we could offer something additional to our clients by the website," he said.
"But we still like people to come here and see our cattle.
"You have to be able to physically inspect an animal to know if it is going to be right for you."
