A taste for the dark side

Myself being a young and upcoming Agricultural professional, i am always keen to explore and expand possible business opportunities by perusing new technologies and innovations within agriculture. Recently, i have found a passion for Brangus type cattle within the South East Queensland market. They seem to be the ideal combination of Bos-tarus and Bos-indicus genetics in which, producers can optimise specific traits to their agricultural enterprises.

Image Owned by Brangus Australia

Being an avid Brahman breeder myself, the Brangus type cattle have always appealed to me in many way by out-crossing specific traits to make a high performance/ producing animal. By taking traits from Brahman cattle such as thick loose skin (great for thermoregulation), high tick resistance due to their hair follecule size and extremely low birth weights / low calving difficulty. And mixing them with superior Angus traits such as early maturity, high growth rates, milk yield quality and finishing ability. It combines perfectly to produce an animal that is able to go out into the paddock, perform, be functional and fertile and is able to finish a calf without supplementation.

Here at IRONROCK Brahmans we have decided to start a Brangus herd in which we can utilise for both stud and commercial aspects of our business. We see this change in direction as a positive step forward into maximising profits of the land that we currently operate on and secure a more financially stable business.

Within South East Queensland we do generally find it harder for buyers and agents to purchase pure Brahmans for the feedlot and slaughter markets. This is due to consumer preference of 'coat colour' and well organised marketing campaigns of major Breed society's advertising their meat as a premium product. So by influencing Angus genetics into our herd we are able to create that perfect 'black coat' which buyers and agents alike are willing to pay top dollar for.

Luckily, Brangus Australia has a strict guideline of rules in which producers of Brangus cattle are able to follow and that is allowing different content amounts of either Brahman or Angus cattle, from 25 to 75% either way. This is a perfect strategy that allows producers to breed and produce high quality animals that will be able to adapt to Australia's harsh climatic conditions.