GROWING up in Adelaide's northern suburbs, life could not have been further from the land for Phoebe Eckermann, but a love of the Royal Adelaide Show and a last-minute visit to a heifer show changed her path forever - leading her to become one of the state's youngest stud breeders.
As a young girl, Ms Eckermann said she would go to the Adelaide Show and sit by the show ring for hours on end watching the cattle win "pretty ribbons".
"I had no idea what was going on but I loved it," she said.
"I just loved seeing the farm animals and never was interested in the rides or anything like that.
"Being from the city, it was just something I'd never really see in day-to-day life so it just amazed me."
Fast forward a few years, a family friend approached her father and suggested he take her to the heifer show and an eleventh hour phone call had her taking part in the education program the next day.
The rest is history according to Ms Eckermann, who from then on was determined to get her start in the industry and Aruma Limousin was born.
Along with her parents, she attended a Limousin sale at Warrawindi in the South East, looking to buy just one breeding female for their new property in Korunye.
"We ended up going home with three animals," Ms Eckermann said.
"We first saw a really good cow with a really nice calf and thought we wanted to take that unit home.
"And then we saw this other cow that really caught our eyes and was the sort of cow we would want to breed - a big volume cow that had softness and a good structure.
"We took the three home and that was the start."
Although she had the support of her parents, Ms Eckermann said starting the stud was not without its challenges, and there had been a steep learning curve to overcome.
Seven years on, she has completed her Bachelor of Science with Honours in Animal Science - giving her a solid background to push the stud into the future.
The stud is home to 15 breeding females and one sire, with Warrawindi Krystal Gem K15 the stud's most impactful female, winning Grand Champion Limousin Cow at the 2019 Royal Adelaide Show - an achievement Ms Eckermann is particularly proud of.
Looking to the future, she said she was keen to see the impact of her newest stud sire on the herd.
"We bought Balamara Rare Gem Stone from the national show and sale," Ms Eckermann said.
"We'll put him over the majority of the cows this season and then AI some of the others.
"We're also looking to buy some straws - Mandayen had a record-breaking bull sold this year we'd be interested in getting genetics from, so that might be something we look into."
RELATED:
Ms Eckermann says she owes her success to her parents, who put their own plans aside so she could chase her dreams.
"My mum would probably love to still live in the city, just to be close to the shops and all of that," she said.
"She's sacrificed that life to come here for me to live my dream.
"The stud has also given my dad something back that he had with his father - they had a Berkshire pig stud when he was young.
"He does so much of the work for us and keeps it going when I'm at my other job and I couldn't do it without him.
"It's inspired me just to have a dream and go out there and get it probably sounds a bit corny, but go after your dreams - you can achieve it if you just put your mind to it."