Mitch James will be the first to tell you that he isn't your typical bull breeder.
He doesn't come from an agricultural background, but rather a business one. And prior to four years ago, he didn't have any experience in the industry.
But it was his love of the PBR Australia, which Mr James has been a long-term sponsor of through his Townsville based business Paradise Outdoor Advertising, that first inspired him to get involved in the bull breeding game.
"Paradise Outdoor Advertising has always been a major sponsor of the PBR in Australia, and I used to go to the events with my family when I was young too," Mr James said.
"I approached Glen Young from the PBR about getting into the industry back in 2018 and he helped put me in touch with the right people.
"Soon after I got into my first partnership with the Brandenburg family with Slam 'n Jam, my first bull, and also got a few other good ones."
It was here that Mr James identified the opportunity to turn his passion into a business, partnering with Oklahoma based stock contractor McCoy Ranch in 2019 to breed stock and important genetics to Australia from some of the country's best bucking stock.
"We began importing the semen and embryos so we could breed bucking bulls in Australia with some of the best genetics the USA has to offer," Mr James said.
"I've now collected four bulls, and I'm in the process of bringing in the semen of the world champion, Ridin Solo."
In 2021, Mr James purchased a property in the Whitsundays to continue the growth of MJ Bucking Bulls, and since this time has established himself as the biggest importer of USA genetics in Australia.
"I currently have around 20 head of cattle in the USA still and over 60 head at our property in the Whitsundays," he said.
"I'm always looking to find the best genetics that I can bring in."
Mr James said his background in business has played a key role in the success of MJ Bucking Bulls and has assisted in identifying further opportunities for growth within the industry.
This includes the creation of his online auction platform Beast Mode Bucking Sales, which Mitch established in 2020 as an avenue for breeders to buy and sell premium bucking genetics online.
The platform is the first of its kind in Australia and generated around $100,000 in sales in its first year of operation.
"Beast Mode Bucking Sales is like a live bidding platform where people can sell genetics and live animals in an online auction," Mr James said.
"There was no professional platform to put the genetics on, so I would be bringing over tens of thousands of dollars worth of embryos and then be selling them on Facebook.
"Our timed auctions give the closest online experience to the real thing and means people receive the best possible price for their stock.
"It started out just being for me to sell my own genetics but now we're allowing other people to put their stock on there to sell."
Mr James and his wife Tenille have now started breeding stud Brahmans at their Whitsundays property and are looking to implement key learning's from their genetics program into this new venture.
"My wife's grandfather in 1969 had a Brahman stud up north called Boomerang Brahmans which we just re-registered," Mr James said.
"We went to the big country sale in Charters Towers and bought one of the top heifers there from Brett Nobbs about $32,000.
"All of the stuff that I learnt from the genetics with the embryos, I'm now doing that with the stud Brahmans, so we're excited to see where that all goes."
Now four years on, Mr James said he is looking forward to seeing his embryos develop, and hopefully one day having them in the PBR.
"I am really looking forward to the genetics I've bought in and created here in Australia to be firing for me," he said.
"I'm getting them to the point where they are 12 months off being in the PBR.
"I am also now partnered with Troy and Holly Keliher and we have 12 current PBR bulls.
"I didn't think it would turn out like this, but I've really enjoyed the journey and I think it is great for the industry to be able to bring this calibre of genetics to Australia."
