Temperament, good handling top priorities for Clermont's Iron Hut

While also working in the neighbouring mines, Mr Albert runs a 400 head Droughtmaster breeding operation, with help from his son, Cyrno at their 2000 hectare property.

Mr Albert said they transitioned their herd out of Brahmans to Droughtmasters back in 2017, after noticing the price buyers were willing to pay for flatback cattle compared to those with a hump.

"The turning point for us was about seven years ago when I sent Brahman cattle to the Emerald sale alongside a line of flatback cattle," he said.

"It worked out, that I got $200 difference in the price and there was only three kilograms difference in the weight between the articles.

"I went away from the Brahmans, as the buyers didn't seem to like the hump and I wasn't selling enough cattle that would warrant me sending them to other markets."

Back in February 2022, Iron Hut made headlines when a run of their Droughtmaster weaner steers broke the Emerald prime and store sale record for cents per kilogram with steers making 862.2c/kg.

The steers, averaged 215kg and returned $1861 per head.

More recently, on March 14, they sold a run of Droughtmaster weaner steers into Emerald topping at 333.2c/kg.

The lead pen weighed 309 kilograms, which made 323.2c/kg to return $999/hd.

Mr Albert said it was rewarding to see their cattle top the market on several occasions after the work they had put in.

"I work our cattle all the time, rotating them around paddocks and spend a lot of time with them, trying to get my weaners really quiet and tidy," he said.

"Good breeding and a lot of handling to maintain good temperament in the yards, it always makes a difference.

"To have such a big record was pretty rewarding at the time.

"The market down turn always affects your top line, but at the end of the day, you can't hope for anything better than to top the market on the day.

"For the cattle we sold in March this year, I was thinking 380 to 420c/kg should have been the price range where we should have been sitting for this time of year but we haven't got anywhere near that.

"The flatback article is a major draw point for buyers and these Droughtmaster steers offered great weight for age and good temperament."

Mr Albert said they mostly bred for the weaner market and targeted the local store sale at Emerald.

"We mainly target the weaner market, that way we can carry more breeders as it's not a big enough place to carry and grow stock," he said.

"We aim to offload steers around 280kg, and if we're experiencing a real good season, I might fatten them to around 300kg.

"Next year, we're aiming to offload around 200 steers."

After they decided to move into Droughtmasters, Mr Albert said they began purchasing lines of breeders from reputable studs across central Queensland, taking advantage of any herd dispersal opportunities.

Mr Albert said they put a focus on strict grazing and fenced the whole property up into roughly around 400 acre paddocks.

"I try to rotate my cattle on a fairly regular basis," he said.

"That way, when I actually wean the cattle, they're used to being moved around and they don't carry on too much in the yards.

"Our property is fairly hard country and they took a little bit to get acclimatised and used to that area but they are going really well on that hard country now.

"The Droughtmasters seem to hold on a fair bit and they're holding on really well through the dry."

In the future, Mr Albert said he plans to join their breeders with Charolais bulls, which he believed would be an ideal cross.

"Both breeds are fairly big boned and they grow quick," he said.