Matt Cooney (right) at Beef 2018 with his cow Cann Valley Lunar Eclipse, which was grand champion female. Photo: supplied

WITH Beef 2024 just around the corner, a Lowline stud in Northern Victoria is preparing a line of 12 bulls for the 24-hour journey north.

Matt Cooney is a two-time Lowline grand champion of the Beef and has been coming to the event ever since 2018.

He said it was a good chance to work on a growing customer base in Central Qld and be part of unique event.

“There is nothing like it around Australia that is purely focused on beef. We attend and enjoy the local agricultural shows but Beef is just a different ballpark,” he said.

“We have had a pretty good run up there winning some of the events. We have also developed some good clients since we first went up in 2018 and we are able to move some animals while we are there.”

Mr Cooney runs a Lowline stud with about 30-40 breeders from the town of Lemnos, just outside of Shepparton in Victoria.

“We prepare the cattle on electrolytes and probiotics and make sure they are properly hydrated for the trip,” he said.

“We normally aim to stop about halfway, which is about Narrabri and Moree, where we give unload and give them a rest and then do the rest of the trip. It is a pretty big hall.”

Growing export markets for Australian Lowline

Originally from Melbourne, Mr Cooney has building up the Lowline business since he was a teenager. He recently stepped from his career of managing telecommunication companies to go fulltime into the cattle business.

The business also has consulting element, breaking in and preparing animals for shows, as well as flushing and transplanting embryos.

“We have a large export market happening for Australian Lowline genetics, mainly to Europe,” he said.

“The farms are getting smaller over there and there is a sustainability part of it. We have sold into several European countries, the UK, the US and New Zealand.”

• More Beef 2024 vendor profiles to come.