TELANGATUK East sheep producer Daniel Rogers always knew he wanted to work at a sheep stud.
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Mr Rogers, 21, was named the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria's Young Sheep Breeder of the Year on Friday.
He runs Telangatuk East stud Mount Yulong Poll Merino with his parents Peter and Julie Rogers.
"I've always been interested in sheep, ever since I was young," he said.
"I used to love going to watch the sheep being sheared."
Mr Rogers said he would never be a crop farmer.
"I hate sitting on the tractor - it's not for me," he said.
"I really enjoy sheep work, especially the genetics side of it and breeding.
"It's about trying to improve the crop of sheep from year to year.
"It's good to see improvements in the stud every year."
Mr Rogers said it was nice to be recognised for his hard work.
"I was a bit shocked - I didn't expect to win the award," he said.
"It was stiff competition."
He said his future plans were to grow Mount Yulong Poll Merino stud with his family.
The stud has been breeding poll merinos for more than 30 years.
Earlier this year, Mr Rogers was one of 22 young Australians selected for a professional development course run by Australian Wool Innovation.
At the course, he was trained in areas including people management, business innovation, corporate governance, strategic planning and time management.
Mr Rogers said it was a fantastic opportunity and it improved his knowledge about managing a business.
Other career highlights including winning junior sheep judging competitions at Balmoral Show last year, Ballarat Sheep and Alpaca Show in 2012 and Sheepvention in 2010.
In 2011, Mr Rogers worked for a year as a jackaroo at Uardry Merino Stud near Hay.
The stud was an 83,000-acre station that ran 25,000 sheep and 1000 cattle.
"I went up there to get a bit more experience and to see how other people run their farms," Mr Rogers said.
He has been working full time on his family's stud for the past three years.
"I do a bit of sheep classing as well - I think that's how I was nominated for the award, because I travel around classing other people's sheep" he said.
This is the first year the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria has presented this award.
Mr Rogers is a former In My Paddock contributor for the Mail-Times.