Diversity

About Australian Braford CattleAbout Australian Braford Cattle



Australian Braford cattle are raised mainly for meat production. As the name suggests, they are from Australia and developed in Queensland between 1946 and 1952. They were developed with the goal of producing cattle that were resistant to cattle ticks and tolerate heat better than some other cattle breeds. They were developed as a cross between a Hereford bull and a Brahman cow, and they carry the characteristics of both breeds. Currently they have stabilized at approximately 50 percent Brahman and 50 percent Hereford.  

Australian Brafords are mainly found in NSW and Queensland. Semen of the breed has been exported to some countries especially to South Africa and South America. Live cattle exports have also been made in some countries, such as into Indonesia and Thailand. They can still be produced through straight-forward crossbreeding between Brahman and Hereford.  

Australian Brafords are medium to large sized, usually red with a white head, underbellies and feet. They carry many characteristics of Brahman cattle such as loose skin, hump, short coat etc. And their color markings are those of the Hereford cattle. They can be either horned or polled. They have relatively oily skin and their extra sweat glands make them ideal for hotter climates, but they can also do very well in the colder regions too. Their eyes are excellently sited to stay healthy under the fierce Australian sun, and cases of eye cancer are very low in these animals. Their average live body weight of the mature Australian Braford bulls is around 1000 kg. And the mature cows on average weight around 750 kg.