Champion beef parader Alizah Fogden has made many connections through showing — including meeting her boyfriend, Josh Whittlesea.
Earlier this year the young couple decided to use some of their house deposit to purchase two Charolais cows to add to their cattle stud.
"It just kind of happened," Ms Fogden said.
"We just had the money in the bank and thought it would be a good sale to invest in."
The fourth-generation farmer manages Boulview stud with her siblings Thomas and Eleni at Nangarina, near Loxton in South Australia's Riverland.
The Fogden children bought their six first Charolais cows at the age of six, using money made from breeding and selling rabbits.
Ms Fogden said she was particularly fond of the Charolais breed, which was popular for its temperament, fast growth and consistent eating quality.
"I'm excited to see where [these cows] take us," she said.
With beef prices continuing to rise, Ms Fogden said she felt it was a good time to be in the industry.
"It has definitely made us go through the weaned calves with a fine-tooth comb to ensure we are only keeping quality because we are getting so much money for the culls," she said.
No end in sight to cattle price rise
Nutrien Ag livestock agent Curly Golding said the "red-hot" supply and demand could see the price of cattle climb even higher.
The Eastern Young Cattle Indicator (EYCI), a general benchmark of young cattle prices nationally, has seen price records tumble since early last year.
Mr Golding said while there had been interest from overseas, most of the sales have been farmers in New South Wales and Queensland restocking after years of drought.
"When it rained up there 18 months ago it created the perfect storm for the cattle market," he said.
Comparing the growth of house prices with cattle prices, he said the latter had skyrocketed in a shorter period.
"If anyone three or four years ago invested in the housing industry that's probably gone up 10 to 20 per cent in some cases," he said.
"So if you've got the money and some feed there's certainly upsides to buying cattle."
Ms Fogden said another pandemic purchase was some Charolais embryos from Canada.
While it has been a long and complicated process, she hoped it would pay off.
"Hopefully they will take us on the show road next year."
As for a place to call home, Ms Fogden said she and Mr Whittlesea plan to build a house on one of her family properties in the next few years.
