Victorian stud Anvil Angus, Alexandra, recently introduced their genetics to the Republic of Kazakhstan, selling a group of autumn-drop heifers to the overseas breeders.
Kazakhstan allows only cattle with three generations of pedigree into their breeding schemes, so stud animals are their main market.
Principal Stephen Handbury said previous discussions with KazBeef director Bill Price had gone well and when the offer to buy Australian stud heifers came up, it was worth looking into.
"The financial benefits were good, and it was already another avenue we are looking at expanding into," he said.
"It makes up a very small part of what we are doing, but it is another marketing opportunity for our genetics.
Mr Handbury had to class the cattle they were willing to sell and make sure they had enough numbers for a decent sampling of their breeding and get a good look at how well the cattle worked.
"There is a misconception over there at the moment that Australian cattle won't handle the climate, so the buyers were keen to put that to rest," he said.
"The heifers landed into a very un-seasonal cold snap and have survived minus 40°C weather already, proving Australian Angus can handle the change in conditions."
The country is landlocked meaning planes are the only means of transport, but Mr Handbury said it was worth the extra cost.
"It is significantly more expensive on the plane, but the buyers were happy to pay extra and I believe it is less stressful for the animal," he said.
"We are currently looking at selling more and I am hoping to fly over with the next lot of cattle to get a much closer look at the entire process.
"Kazakhstan is building up a sizeable Angus breeding herd and it is also looking at using Angus over the native Kazakh cow, so it could develop into a bigger market."
Mr Handbury said they used a wide mixture of genetics from all spectrums of the breed to develop their own brand of cattle, including Banquet, Merrigrange, Ardrossan and Temania bloodlines.
"It was a matter of putting a large cross section of cows together and seeing who rose to the top," he said.
"It has been an interesting journey and has certainly helped us to identify what we like, what works for us and more importantly our clients."
"EBV's have definitely been a indispensable tool in helping us develop our brand of Angus, but phenotype and structure have always been our main concern."
Anvil Angus has used overseas genetics widely throughout their stud, travelling yearly to the US and New Zealand to select quality bulls.
Mr Handbury said this allowed them to be progressive with the bulls they use.
"We're not just about using bulls out of semen catalogues," he said.
"We're out there looking at the animals and are choosing bulls from more then what is just on paper."
"By travelling we also get a chance to see progeny before they are in Australia and make an assessment of if they are going to work with our cattle.
"When we travel we also look for those bulls who are number two or three, those who didn't get picked up by semen companies straight away because their EBV numbers may not have been as marketable, but more often than not we find these bulls to have less holes structurally."
Recent overseas bulls used in the Anvil Angus herd include WK Reply, bought in conjunction with Angus Genetics of Russia, and SAV Density, an American bull who sired their top priced bulls for both 2009 and 2010.
Mr Handbury said seeing sires in person meant they made less mistakes.
"While lots of bulls look great in a catalogue photo, but when you see them in the flesh and moving faults can emerge," he said.
"When we use a bull and it fails, the cost is considerable.
"We end up with fewer bulls for sale and the females drop out of herd over the years.
"Anyone can breed numbers, but breeding good structured and good phenotype cattle is a different exercise.
"We are not perfect at it, we're still getting there, but we try to make less mistakes by travelling."
Anvil Angus held their first on-farm bull sale five years ago and already have loyal stud clients, with the top bulls of their last three sales going into stud herds.
This year, the stud will also offer females for the first time, with 28 for sale from donor cows through to joined heifers.
"It is not something we will do all the time, but it is a chance to showcase the breeding program and an opportunity for people to get purchase our genetics," Mr Handbury said.
"While we are hoping to continue to see the potential of starting an Anvil Angus operation in Kazakhstan and are keen to explore and see if it is a possibility, we are mindful that we don't take our eye off the ball back home."
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