Many people think of Brafords as northern cattle but South East beef producers Daniel and Helen Treloar are proving they perform well in all environments.
In the past 22 years the couple have been graziers in three states and the one constant has been their Braford herd.
They first got into the breed looking to improve their Hereford herd’s hardiness not long after buying Tillenbury Station, near White Cliffs in the Western Division of NSW.
They introduced Braford bulls and gradually bred to a 1000-cow pure Braford herd.
When they bought a property near Goondiwindi, Qld, the majority of their breeders remained on agistment in western NSW and they took the weaners up and finished them in Qld.
Five years ago, the Treloars made another move, buying 810-hectare Chessington at Stewart Range, near Naracoorte, to be closer to schooling for their daughters Airlie and Abigail.
“We just brought the best of our cows down here and started again,” he said.
With the station herd calving all year round it took a couple of years to pregnancy test and start dividing the mobs but they have succeeded in getting a spring and autumn calving herd.
They are now running 400 Braford breeders, including replacement heifers.
Due to the difficulty of buying Braford cows they have also bought 200 Angus females which are a spring-calving terminal operation.
In their first couple of years in the SE they encountered very dry springs and sold young cattle as stores on AuctionsPlus, which opens up an Australia-wide market.
But this year with plenty of paddock feed they are finishing them to 550 kilograms to 600kg.
Mr Treloar admits there was buyer reluctance at first with few other Braford herds in SA, but in the past few years all of the cattle have sold locally.
“Some people think Brafords are Brahmans but when they have assessed their performance and when the buyers have seen how they have dressed out they have been really impressed,” he said.
The Braford breed has adapted to “battling through a dry spell” and Mr Treloar says they are efficient feed converters.
“They are an animal that is used to hunkering down and giving everything to their calves,” he said.
The Treloars are enjoying their southern move and being able to focus on breeding quality cattle.
“We have been very lucky compared to our family and friends in the Western Division,” he said.
“It is these prolonged dry spells up there that make us realise how reliable this country is – but we do miss the bush.”
Polled genetics give advantages to herd
Sourcing low Bos Indicus content bulls is working well for the Treloars at Stewart Range, producing cattle well-adapted to southern areas with plenty of softness.
For many years they have been buying sires from northern NSW studs Donrinda and Double C, which are focusing on bulls with about five-eighths Herefords and three-eighths Brahman.
In September they bought an outcross, the $17,000 top price bull at the Ascot Neimen on-property sale in Banana, Qld.
“The last five years the quality of Braford bulls on offer is progressing in leaps and bounds and stud breeders are putting a lot of effort into their genetics,” Daniel Treloar said.
Like many, the Treloars have an emphasis on polled cattle and it is one of the main criteria in the 30 per cent to 40pc of heifers retained annually. Mr Treloar, a director with the Australian Braford Society, says the breed deserves more recognition but is attracting more young breeders.
“They are a very versatile breed – they make a great cross putting bone and thickness in the animals but we love the straight lines,” he said.
