Cattle Breed Societies
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Angus Australia
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The Belgian Blue cattle breed is currently one of the most important beef breeds in the world today. Its popularity and acceptance is based initially on the production of an exceptionally lean, high bone out, high yielding carcase. |
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In 1954 there was an obvious need in the Australian Tropics for a breed of cattle which would have a more placid temperament, be highly fertile, and utilise the environment and its pastures in the most efficient manner to give high weight gains The Belmont Red was therefore conceived at Belmont Research Station as a composite breed using Africander (African Sanga) and Hereford-Shorthorn (Bos Taurus) to fulfil that need – and further developed by commercial breeders. Rigid selection for the traits required has resulted in the evolution of a breed of "Australian Made" cattle which has been remarkably successful when compared, under trial conditions with older breeds and their crosses. |
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The breed started and was developed in the austere hill country in the Galloway area of south-west Scotland and is believed to have originated more than 300 years ago the result of crossing the Galloway with the Dutch Laken elder. The "Beltie" is naturally polled and has striking colourings of black, red or dun, with a white belt. For sheer eye appeal, no breed is more distinctive in the paddock and the term "beautiful Belties" is often used. The have a "double coat " of hair, consisting of a long, shaggy overcoat and a soft, thick undercoat, providing excellent insulation in cold, bleak weather and reducing the amount of feed intake required to maintain body weight. |
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Bonsmara are a tropically adapted Bos taurus breed. Performance recording is the cornerstone of their development. They are the dominant breed in South Africa, where some 60,000 registered females are currently being performance recorded with the commercial and seedstock herds, adding to around 4 million head. Some 400 Bonsmara embryos were first imported into Australia in 1998 from the Republic of South Africa, followed by semen from the USA. The genetics are a combination of African and British, forming a very productive breed in their own right, but also offer Australian cattlemen an attractive option as terminal sires with Brahman and Brahman Euro breeders. Research continues to show that on average bos taurus meat is more consumer acceptable than bos indicus meat. |
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Braford Society
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Brahman Breeders Association
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The Brangus breed has been developed as a stabilised breed in Australia with commercially orientated breeding programs going back to the early 1950’s. Brangus are designed to retain the strengths of the parent breeds, the Brahman and Angus. Brangus are allowed a variable Bos Indicus content which makes them capable of handling any environment. Brangus excels in the profitable traits of fertility, easy calving, maternal, heat and parasite tolerance and longevity. These abilities allow Brangus to meet varying production specifications allowing Brangus breeder’s valuable marketing options. |
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History of the Braunvieh breed of cattle goes back to the central European countries of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. These adjoining mountainous areas developed the Braunvieh as a pure breed for many centuries. Their origin goes back to short horned cattle of Neolithic marsh type sometimes referred to as the Auroch. Braunvieh could be regarded as one of the oldest pure breeds of cattle in the world. According to records made by monasteries and local government guilds Braunvieh have been kept homogenous for nearly 1000 years. The earliest records are found in stock lists and agricultural ordinances of the monastic foundations of Einsiedeln, Engelberg, Muri and St Gall, dating from the 9th and 10th centuries. The monasteries levied taxes from their vassals in the form of cattle and dairy products. However, the cattle were not only intended to provide sustenance for the monks, but began to be bartered for grain, salt and other necessaries. Consequently many documents survived from the 14th to 18th century which bear witness to a brisk trade in cattle by the founding cantons in Eastern Switzerland with neighboring countries. |
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The British White is one of the oldest breeds in Britain and these animals were previously known as Park cattle. Originating at Whalley Abbey in mid – Lancashire, the original herd being dispersed in 1697. They spread from this area and eventually become concentrated in East Anglia where most of the herds are still centred, although new herds have been established in many other parts of the country. |
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Charbray Society of Australia
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Charolais Society of Australia
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It is believed that the origin of the Chianina began in the Bronze Age at about 1500 BC from animals of Asia and Africa brought into Italy. It can be said that the Chianina are among the oldest, if not the oldest, of purebred bovine breeds. From the Roman times of 300-200BC the breed was used primarily for draft and sacrificial reasons. With the coming of Christianity and the Middle Ages came also practical times. The Medieval peasant simply could not afford to keep an animal that could not work well and those who could not conform were butchered. This practice may have been the first, albeit rustic, breeding programme. |
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Composite Beef Breeders Australia
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Devon Cattle Breeders’ Society of Australia
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Droughtmaster Society
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Galloway Beef Marketing Association
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Gelbvieh Association
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Herefords Australia Ltd
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Highland Cattle Society
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Holstein Australia
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Jersey Breeders Society
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The Limousin breed originated in a region of central France - rugged, granite country - where the summers are hot and winters are severe. The documented history of Limousin goes back more than 15,000 years to to an area surrounding the French city of Limoges where rough cave paintings showing the characteristics of the breed have been discovered and carbon dated. The Limousin herd book was established in 1886. Today the Limousin breed can be found in seventy countries from the northern-most herds of Finland and the Commonwealth of Soviet States to countries such as Cuba, South Africa and China. |
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Lowline Cattle
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Maine-Anjou Cattle
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The origin of Miniature Hereford cattle has its roots in Herefordshire, England. The Miniature Hereford we know today are descendants of pure Hereford stock selectively bred since the 1970’s. With the trend at that time being “bigger is better” one particular breeder went against the trend and selectively bred for temperament, hardiness, meat quality and feed conversion. |
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Murray Grey Beef Cattle Society
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Piedmontese Cattle Breeders Association
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Australian Quarantine Stock Office records of imports from England, are limited prior to 1891, as they were not consistently kept. However, records show that the Rev. Samuel Marsden was the first person to import Suffolk Duns, Norfolk Reds and Red Polls to Australia sometime in the first decade of the 1800s. He was the most dominant cattle breeder in the colony of NSW at that time. The first Red Poll Stud was started by the late Hon. James Howlin Graves MLA, former Victorian minister for Customs sometime in the 1870’s from cattle purchased from John B. Docker, who is said to have brought the cattle out from England. |
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Romagnola
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At birth, Salers calves are typically long and slender and have small heads. This shape is a major contributor to the renowned calving ease of the breed. Birth weights of Salers-sired calves are usually between 30 and 40 kilograms and vary with age, size and breed of the dam. A Grey Bull Newborn Salers are extremely active and aggressive sucklers. Salers females are usually very conscientious and vigilant mothers, often caring for other calves in the group as well as their own. Dingoes would have great difficulty in taking calves from Salers cows but weighing or tagging a newborn calf rarely presents a problem. The gregarious nature of Salers makes them easy to muster and work through yards. |
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Santa Gertrudis Breeders Association
Necessity brought about the development of the Santa Gertrudis breed in the United States of America. Through genetic engineering and Australian beef cattle management skills, this has progressed to what is now one of the major true beef breeds of Australia. King Ranch Australia introduced the breed in 1952 with the importation of 75 bulls and 200 heifers. They established headquarters at Risdon, Warwick, Queensland and offered 12 bulls at public auction on November 14, 1952. King Ranch Australia made a further importation in 1954. |
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Shorthorn Beef
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Originally known as Durham cattle, the Shorthorn breed first arrived on the shores of Australia in 1799 and since then has been instrumental in making our nation one of the largest producers of beef in the world. The breed is red, white or roan in colour and the great majority of Shorthorn cattle in Australia are genetically polled. The absence of horns provides for less possible harm to handlers and other cattle and removes any stress associated with dehorning. The maternal characteristics, freedom from structural faults and excellent meat quality imparted by the purebred Shorthorn have provided a strong genetic base for cross breeding and the development of composite breeds such as Belmont Red, Murray Grey, Santa Gertrudis and Droughtmaster. |
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Simmentals originated in the Simmen valley in Switzerland. Throughout the last 200 years the Simmental breed grew to become Europe's dominant dual purpose beef/milk breed. Over the past 30 years, the Simmental breed spread to other continents, including North and South America, Africa and Australasia, where Simmentals are predominantly used for beef production. Today, the Simmental breed is present on all continents and with 41 million animals is the second larg-est breed in the world. |
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