Board members

Steve Donovan – President

Hi, for those of you who don’t know me I would like to introduce myself. I am Steve Donovan and I am a partner in Ashby Brafords which is based in the Jimbour and Bell areas. The Stud was started in the early 70s by my parents. Our cattle run predominantly on Coolibah ridge country. We sell our bulls and heifers annually at the New Dimension sale at Bell and the National sale at Rockhampton. I have been involved with the South Qld group for 36 years holding management positions at various times and I have also been on the New Dimension Sale committee since its in inception in 2005. I believe the breed is in a very positive position within the beef industry and I believe with everyone’s input this position can be advanced. Please don’t hesitate to call if you have any queries or concerns and I will do what I can to help.

Dan Galloway – Treasurer

Dan Galloway is a part of the Ascot Neimen Braford Studs, running it alongside his wife Pip, and parents Graham and Jill Galloway. Dan is heavily involved in operating both the Stud and commercial operations. Ascot Neimen Brafords are currently running around 200 registered and 400 commercial breeders across four properties in the Banana area. The commercial side is focused on breeding and growing out steers and heifers to meet the grass-fed EU market, while the stud aspect is focused on the National Bull Sale in September. Dan hopes to help promote the breed and increase breeder’s confidence in Brafords.

Daniel Treloar

Daniel and his two daughters Airlie and Abigail run their ‘Tillenbury’ stud herd on their property Riverview just north of Rockhampton on the Fitzroy River and commercial cows at Garnant west of Rockhampton. Daniel has been running commercial Brafords for over 25 years on country in far western New South Wales and South Australia before relocating to Central Queensland in 2020. His commitment to the ongoing promotion of the Braford breed to commercial operators nationwide stems from his firsthand observation of their remarkable adaptability to diverse climatic conditions. Daniel is particularly enthusiastic about advocating for the Braford as an optimal choice for crossbreeding programs, having witnessed the significant advantages in hybrid vigor through his own extensive experience. Looking ahead, Daniel is eager to collaborate with management in further enhancing the breed’s quality through the utilisation of genetic testing and the adoption of emerging technologies within the beef industry.

Stuart Brown

It is with great honour that I have the opportunity to serve the Australian Braford Society and our members. I operate a small yet active Braford Stud at Clifton, comprising of two herds Alderside and Coograli with around 23 breeders. We show our cattle locally and support the feature shows, FarmFest and Beef Australia in Rockhampton. I am very passionate about the promotion of our breed and believe that we will continue to grow our acceptance in the market. Our breed is a great Australian success story, and we offer a very adaptable, productive, and easy to manage animal that ticks a lot of boxes for stud and commercial producers alike. I believe that the Braford Breed also has the best people, members that support each other and have the common goal to promote Brafords everywhere. Brafords have been a lifelong love of mine, and from the early 80’s to now and I have developed some great friendships within the breed and continue to make
new ones. My goals are to help increase membership numbers, actively promote our breed and assist with the development of the Braford youth. Please feel free to contact me at any time and I look forward catching up with you all.

Robert Hoffman

Robert runs Downfall Creek Stud along with his wife Lesette. The stud was developed in 1987 and is run in conjunction with a commercial herd. Robert stood as President of the Society for a number of terms and stepped down from management at the end of his last term. This year has seen him follow his passion and he has once again taken a place on management.

Ben O’Connell

Fleetwood Brafords was established in the late 2000’s, based out of Jambin in Central Queensland. Ben aims to breed commercially focused bulls with paddock sales and steers going to Biloela Teys. Ben is heavily involved in showing on the local show circuit and hopes to promote Brafords – especially to new members and grow the breed.

Martin Lill

Martin is an established beef cattle producer and livestock genetics specialist. He is a respected international livestock judge with over 25years industry expertise in beef production systems in Australia and internationally. Recent major judging engagements include Beef Australia 2018 & 2021 and Royal Qld Show 2022. Martin holds a Bachelor of Science from UNE, majoring in reproductive physiology. Martin has a demonstrated record of premium livestock breeding & management, sales and marketing and has proficiencies in new and emerging market development with significant experience in Latin America and Southeast Asia. Martin has exceptional industry insight and connectivity and is focused on the practical application of industry research, protocol development, negotiation and policy creation. Martin owns Chadwick Downs Cattle Co in NW NSW which centres on Braford production, and he is passionate about the development and progression of the breed leveraging world-class best practices.

Larry Acton – Patron

Larry is honoured to currently serve as the Patron of the Australian Braford Society and takes pride in the fact that he was recently awarded Life Membership of the Society. He is committed to advancing and promoting the breeding of Braford cattle wherever he goes, including offering support to newer members who are just starting out or are part of the young generation critical to the future of the breed. For almost four decades, Larry and Beth successfully managed a large commercial Braford herd in the Central Highlands region of Queensland, primarily purchasing their bulls through the annual National Sale. Over 20 years ago, Larry transitioned into the Stud industry and the 2022 National Sale marked the final year that his stud sold bulls. After breeding Brafords for more than 50 years, Larry and Beth made the very difficult decision to announce and organise the complete dispersal sale of the Riverton Stud which was held on May 22nd, 2023.