Bonnie Cox: 23-year-old builds an Angus stud

She might be just 23 years old, but Bonnie Cox is starting to make her name heard in Angus circles.

Pictures: Supplied

Young cattle producer Bonnie Cox is determined to make her mark in the Angus industry, and is hustling to achieve her dream of running a commercial stud.

At 23 years of age, Bonnie works in market operations at AuctionsPlus, is studying a Bachelor of Agriculture at Charles Sturt University, and also works and lives on a commercial beef property operated by Sloan Farm Management near Berry on NSW’s south coast.

It’s a lot on one plate.

But Bonnie is hungry for a career in agriculture.

“I’ve got such a love and a passion for animals … especially beef cattle,” Bonnie said. “I just adore them, and being able to have a job where I could be with them every day … it’s just so exciting to me.”

Bonnie Cox has an all-consuming passion for agriculture, and rearing the food that Australians eat.

At just 23-years old, Bonnie Cox is focusing on the future, and working to achieve her dream of establishing her own Angus stud.

Using a methodical approach, Bonnie is working on a three-year plan to save a deposit for her own property, while working towards smaller business goals evaluated every 90 days.

“I’m very lucky to have a wide range of mentors around available to me, who I’m sure would be getting sick of me chewing their ear off with questions,” Bonnie said.

“This includes a few employers that I work for who own land and run commercial beef operations around Berry, my stock agent, and of course my family and friends.”

Bonnie is also using a 240ha plot of land owned by her family to run about 100 Angus and Murray Grey cattle.

For Bonnie, being a key link in the food chain, caring for the livestock that eventually feeds a nation, is at the heart of what drives her many ambitions.

“It’s the old-fashioned thing, when you think about agriculture and it was one of the first things that started society,” Bonnie said.

“We stopped being hunter gatherers, and turned to farms, and I think that’s what draws me to it, to be out on the land and feeding people, and really keeping society going in that way.”

Ultimately, the connection between food and people is what motivates Bonnie in life, and her drive to produce her own Angus meat in the future.

“We’re in the food industry, and everyone needs food,” Bonnie said.

“I think there’s a real disconnect between people that live in cities, the consumers, and the on-farm producers. People don’t really know what happens much on the farm anymore.”

Bonnie was also recently a presenter at the Zoetis Angus National Conference and is the inaugural recipient of the AuctionsPlus and Angus Foundation Cadetship.