Santa Gertrudis youth ambassador award to Lachie Martin.

Hailing from Inverell, 21-year-old Lachlan Martin grew up surrounded by his family's Santa Gertrudis cattle under the stud Riverslea. Attending his first youth camp at the ripe age of eight, Mr Martin got the taste for the show ring and continued to compete in the camps over the next 12 years.

"I gained a lot there and then in the last three or four years I have written my name across to the family stud," Mr Martin said.

"That kept me interested, kept me going, and kept my foot in the door," he said.

After completing his schooling in 2019, Mr Martin moved to the Northern Territory and worked for the Bassingthwaighte family of Waco Santa Gertrudis for 12 months.

"Then I have been doing a lot of corporate stuff with Paraway Pastoral Company. I have been trying to learn a lot of the trade and the bulk numbers, and get my head around it," Mr Martin said.

"I am now looking at getting back on the stud cows part of it now, more as a full time gig," he said.

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Mr Martin said he would definitely be attending both Sydney and Brisbane Royal shows as they were major displays of Santa Gertrudis cattle.

"I will also be hoping to go down to Hobart and even across to Perth because there are Santa's down there and they are in a real growth period. I want to get there and try and promote and help as much as I can. Hopefully within the next 12 to 18 months, I want to get overseas and do the same over there," he said.

Aiming to travel to America, where the breed was founded, he planned to continue to represent the breed and Australia at various shows and events while gaining information that he can bring back to the youth program he grew up a part of.

Currently only one session off completing his diploma in Agricultural Business, Mr Martin and his partner will be moving to the Dangarfield Santa Gertrudis stud just out of Taroom, Queensland, in February where he will take on the stud manager role.

"I am really excited to get up there and see what I can do and just keep learning about the stud industry," Mr Martin said.

He also said his plans were to increase his own stud herd.

"Continuing to grow my own stud, we are looking at doubling in size over the next two years and we have really enhanced our genetics and got them to a point where we are going to be able to do some embryo and AI (artificial insemination) programs and hopefully get our numbers right up there again, sort of what they were before pre drought. We are really excited for that," Mr Martin said.