Australian Braford Society

5 hours ago

𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀!

We’re excited to announce that our Braford breed registry database search is getting an update, with the soft launch of BreedLOGIC happening on Wednesday 14 October.

BreedLOGIC brings powerful, intuitive search tools and a cleaner, easier-to-use platform, making it simpler to find, view and analyse your Braford data.

Whether you’re searching pedigrees, checking animals or digging a little deeper into your herd, BreedLOGIC is designed to make accessing your registry information easier.

Find out more here: tinyurl.com/5cjfw6ah

#australianbrafords #breedlogic #beefitupwithbrafords #brafordsarebest ... See MoreSee Less

Australian Braford Society updated their cover photo.

6 days ago

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Australian Braford Society

7 days ago

LONG WEEKEND – OFFICE CLOSURE

Please be advised that the Australian Braford office will be closed on Monday 5 October 2026 for the Public Holiday observed in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Australian Capital Territory.

The office will reopen and normal business hours will resume on Tuesday 6 October 2026.

#australianbraford #brafordsarebest #beefitupwithbrafords ... See MoreSee Less

Australian Braford Society

2 weeks ago

Happy Braford Fundamental Friday everybody!
We’ve been doing a bit of research into scurs in cattle due to their peculiar nature and have also reached out to a professional in the area to find out a bit more.

It’s an interesting topic, so we thought we’d share what we’ve found out!

𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗧𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰 🥁
𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝, 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐝… 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧?

For most Braford breeders, horn status is something we think about when making breeding decisions. Whether you're breeding horned cattle, working towards more polled cattle, or simply wanting to understand what your animals are carrying, DNA testing for horn/poll status has become a useful tool.

𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐕𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃
Horned and polled cattle are genetically different, and DNA testing can help determine an animal's genetic horn/poll status.

For breeders who are working towards a polled herd, this can be particularly useful. Why? because what you see isn't always the complete picture of what an animal is carrying.

You might look at a calf and see a nice clean, polled head, but its DNA result can tell you a lot more about what it is carrying genetically.

When looking at the poll results on the Braford database, you may come across:

𝗣𝗰𝗣𝗰 – 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘇𝘆𝗴𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱
This animal has two copies of the polled variant and will pass a polled variant on to all of its progeny.

𝗛𝗣𝗰 – 𝗛𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗼𝘇𝘆𝗴𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱
This animal has one polled variant and one horned variant. It is genetically polled, but can pass either variant on to its progeny.

𝗛𝗛 – 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘇𝘆𝗴𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗛𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱
This animal has two copies of the horned variant.

So why does this matter? If you're breeding towards more polled Brafords, knowing whether your bull is PcPc or HPc can make a real difference to your breeding decisions. Two bulls can both look completely polled, but genetically they aren't necessarily the same.

A PcPc bull will pass a polled variant to every calf, an HPc bull can pass either the polled or horned variant on. The same applies to your females.

Knowing the poll status of your cows and heifers, along with the bull you're joining them to, gives you a much clearer picture of what you can expect in the resulting calves.

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄’𝐒 𝐒𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐒
Scurs can look a little like small, loose or irregular horn growth, but they aren't simply the same thing as horns. The genetics behind scurs are more complicated than the straightforward horned versus polled conversation.

Sex appears to play a role in whether scurs are expressed, with scurs generally being more commonly observed in males and age can also come into play.

A young animal may appear completely normal around the head, only for scurs to become more obvious as it gets older.And importantly, a genetically polled animal can still develop scurs.

So having a PcPc or HPc result doesn't automatically answer the question of whether an animal will develop scurs. The horn/poll result and the presence or absence of scurs are two different things.

𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐖𝐄 𝐃𝐍𝐀 𝐓𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐒𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐒?
Not with a simple commercial test at this stage. There has been research into the genetics behind scurs, but there is still more to learn about exactly how the different genetic factors work together.

This is something we're looking into further as a Society. We're currently investigating what information is already available and speaking with external parties with expertise in genetics and cattle research to see what else we can learn about scurs and what may be possible from a Braford perspective.

We're not saying we've got all the answers, far from it. But if there is more we can learn about scurs in Brafords, we'd like to find out.

In the meantime, if you see scurs in your Braford cattle, record them, keep a note of the animal, its sex, age, parents and horn/poll status. If you've got related animals showing the same thing, record that too.

The more information we have about what we're actually seeing in our Braford cattle, the better position we are in to understand whether there are patterns within the breed.

Have a great weekend everyone!

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Australian Braford Society

2 weeks ago

EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST CLOSE THIS FRIDAY, 25 SEPTEMBER

Thinking about putting forward a heifer for the 2027 Elite Braford Heifer Sale?

The Wide Bay Burnett Braford Promotional Group is calling for Expressions of Interest from financial Braford members, with EOI closing this Friday, 25 September 2026.

Now heading into its 7th year, the Elite Braford Heifer Sale will be held on Saturday, 20 March 2027, with the sale capped at 60 head.

Heifers should be 250kg+ and ready to be joined, unless already PTIC, with members encouraged to consider nominating up to two females.

The focus is on Elite • Femininity • Fertility • Financial Futurity, making this a great opportunity to showcase your Braford females.

𝗘𝗢𝗜 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲: 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝟮𝟱 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲

Number nominations: 13 November 2026
pedigree nominations: 22 January 2027

Nomination fee: $130 per heifer
Payment is only required once your nomination has been confirmed.

If you’ve been thinking about nominating, now is the time to get your EOI in!

For more information or to register your interest, contact:

Jacinta Dawson – Secretary
0437 648 176

Lee Webster – Chairman
0409 865 128

Michelle Webster – Treasurer
0418 889 006
widebaybrafordgroup@gmail.com

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Australian Braford Society

2 weeks ago

✅✅✅ EOI Boomerang Arthur 1237 (P) ✅✅✅

The last son of Downfall Creek Grover by a Boomerang Classified cow C2228. She is a consistent breeder in our herd, great udder, large framed cow who just does no matter the conditions.

25-26months of age
840kg

Motile 70%
Morphology 81%
7 in 1
Vibrio
Pesti
3 day
3 germ

Tested negative to Pesti, Pompes and Myostatin.

This bull has the length, depth and is tidy underneath. He is ready to go straight out with cows.
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Australian Braford Society

3 weeks ago

Happy Friday Braford people! The week is nearly done, so what better time for a little cattle brain food?

Todays Topic 🥁
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞?

We usually think of the water trough as just somewhere the cattle go to have a drink or can be medicated through, but some pretty interesting research has been looking at whether water troughs could also be used to help monitor cattle health.

Researchers at Charles Darwin University have been looking at environmental DNA and RNA (eDNA/eRNA) in cattle drinking water.

So what's the idea?

Cattle leave behind small amounts of biological material when they're drinking. This can include things like saliva and nasal discharge. Researchers have been testing whether this material can be collected from the water and used to identify bacteria and viruses that are present within the environment.

WHY WOULD THIS BE USEFUL?
For cattle producers, particularly in northern Australia, cattle can be spread over some pretty big areas. Checking individual animals isn't always easy, but cattle still need to come into water points.
The research is looking at whether these water points could provide another way of monitoring what's happening within a herd, without having to catch individual animals every time.

BUT DON'T GO TESTING YOUR TROUGHS JUST YET!
This is still an area of research and it doesn't replace normal veterinary testing or testing individual animals. What it does show is that there may be another way of collecting information about cattle health, particularly across large properties.
The researchers were able to detect bacterial and viral material in water samples collected from cattle troughs, which is helping them understand whether this could become a useful disease surveillance tool in the future.

SO WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA
We're getting better and better at using DNA and other technology to find out what's happening in our cattle. This research is another example of how technology could potentially help producers keep an eye on herd health in a practical way.

It's early days, but it's certainly something worth keeping an eye on.

So next time you're checking the water trough, maybe remember that there's more going on in there than just cattle having a drink!

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Australian Braford Society

3 weeks ago

We would like to thanks all the buyers and underbidders for their valued support again this year at the National Sale. It is greatly appreciated.
Also agents Elders and GDL Studstock for their assistance with the sale.

Our draft had a 100 % clearance with many going to repeat clients -

Sunlight Grazing
Eureka Grazing
Galloway Grazing
Ascot/Neimen Brafords
N Dickson
P Wroe
S Fordham

We are very pleased with the purchase of our new sire Neimen Phil (below) and look forward to seeing his progeny.

Also we hope that everyone gets some much needed rain soon. ... See MoreSee Less