Aleacea Nixon was born to breed, show and judge Hereford cattle.
The fifth generation producer, who began her stud Mickey Mouse Beef in 2015 at 14, has been in the industry for 18 years and won many champions in paraders, junior judging and herdsman awards.
She joined the Herefords QLD Youth Association (HQYA) committee at 15 and is the current president, having been sponsorship officer and secretary.
But, it all began with the New England Hereford Heifer Show when she was five, held in Tamworth, NSW before QLD Youth relaunched its show to Pittsworth in 2011.
Aleacea, 23, has never missed a year since. Why?
“Because it gave me so much confidence, 100 per cent,” she answered.
“I’m quite an introverted person but these youth camps are the most supportive places in the world to learn.
“There’s no one there judging you.
“It doesn’t matter what your school thinks. It doesn’t matter what your friends think because you’ve got like-minded people with you and all they want to do is support what you’re doing.”
Aleacea was raised on a Hereford farm at Chinchilla until she and her parents moved to Dulacca when she was 15 to help her grandparents.
She now lives in Miles in the Western Downs region.
After school, Aleacea moved to Wagga in NSW to study a Bachelor of Animal Science at Charles Sturt University before transferring to Armidale to study a Bachelor of Agriculture.
She graduates in July.
“My Dad is an engineer and my Mum has an associate diploma in farm management.
“And the thing we were always told as kids is that with a career in farming you need a back-up plan. Farming is a very volatile environment. You need a degree, you need a trade.”
While studying over the past 15 months, Aleacea has worked full-time in rural product sales “her dream job” for Elders in Meandarra.
“It involved talking to farmers in regards to different and new products,” she said. “My favorite part of the job was when they asked ‘I’ve got a problem can you help me?’
“When I am qualified, I want to get into animal nutrition. So, that’s sort of my next pathway and I haven’t really decided how I’m going to go about that yet.”
Aleacea’s stud Mickey Mouse Beef boasts Hereford and Gelbvieh cattle based on the genetics her parents use.
Her aim is to produce a moderate female that breeds a well-structured, big bull suited for the tough north Queensland markets.
Sales of her sires continue to be strong around Clermont in the Isaac region but Aleacea’s proudest achievement, to date, is winning Grand Champion Gelbvieh bull at the Ekka in 2018.
“I sold him to some really good clients and he’s doing amazing,” Aleacea said.
“We went and visited him in Maclagan (in the Toowoomba region) and had a look at his progeny and every single one of them looked exactly the same.
“He has created a beautiful line of cattle so I’m very proud of that.”
This year’s HQYA youth camp will be held in Dalby from 29 June to 2 July.
It offers a range of hands-on, educational activities to teach future generations about the agricultural industry.
