FRANKFORT, Ind. – A prize-winning show bull from his tiny herd in Indiana turned out to be his ticket from working in a feed mill to his calling in life as a cattleman.

Brody Fitzgerald, 28, of Frankfort, said he saw major potential in his now 2-year-old bull after he was born in September 2023.

Fitzgerald said giving birth to the animal was the daughter of a pair of male and female bulls he and his grandfather, Earl Clock, purchased together to start their own herd.

The herd was kept at his grandfather’s small corn and soybean farm in Fairmount.

A few more bulls were added to the herd before Clock passed away just before the birth of the bull Fitzgerald named “St. Elmo” after a historic steakhouse in Indianapolis.

Fitzgerald, who showed bulls as a youth in 4-H and member of the National Junior Angus Association, said he saw great potential in his calf because his body seemed structurally perfect and his feet lined up correctly.

“He looked the part,” he said.

Fitzgerald said he tried putting everything he had into making a champion out of the bull, who racked up a number of strong finishes, including first place titles, before being declared by the American Angus Association its 2024-25 “Show Bull of the Year.”

His best finishes in show competitions, often against bulls from much larger herds, included grand champion and reserve grand champion at events in Kentucky, Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Missouri.

Points earned in each of the 16 show competitions held annually by the American Angus Association from June 1 to May 31 are used in naming the show bull of the year and other awards for animals, breeders and owners.

The winners were announced Nov. 1 during the American Angus Association awards dinner, which was part of its annual convention in Kansas City, Mo.

Early in his successful run, people in the industry who were taking notice led Fitzgerald to a job managing a cattle breeding operation near Frankfort last year. Now, Fitzgerald is leaving soon to manage a smaller herd at a well-established show cattle operation focusing heavily on genetics near Plymouth.

“The end goal was landing a job in the cattle industry by using the bull to meet people to connect me to potential job opportunities. That’s exactly what this bull did for me,” he said.

Fitzgerald didn’t grow up on a ranch but was around the industry from his father managing cattle operations in other states like Pennsylvania where he spent most of his time as a child.

He was in his third year as an agribusiness student at Oklahoma State University when he decided to drop out and move to Indiana just down the road from his grandfather.

Fitzgerald, who wasn’t sure what he wanted to do for a living yet, was working at a nearby feed mill when his grandfather, who once raised a few Angus cattle, suggested they form a herd together.

His prize-winning bull has retired from competing but has become a source for semen Fitzgerald is making available to breeders for purchase.

He has no other plans for his prize-winning cow except to let him live out the rest of his life with his other bulls.

“There’s nothing too strenuous coming in his days to come,” he said.

Fitzgerald, who recalled his days playing cowboy and being around cows as a child, said it’s a great feeling to finally discover what he firmly believes is his true calling.

“It’s what I want to do for the rest of my life. To me, it doesn’t feel like work even though it can be rigorous at times,” he said.