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.