Kamphaeng Saen, Thailand, is a far cry from the wide open spaces of North Head Station, Georgetown, but for beef industry leader Barry Hughes it delivered a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Mr Hughes, chair of the Gulf Cattleman’s Association, and wife Tammy spent a week at the Kamphaeng Saen Campus at the Kasetsart University, Nakhon Prathom Provience, last month where he judged a major Brahman show.
Mr Hughes, who represented the Australian Brahman Breeders Association, judged both bull and female classes, with more than 300 animals contesting the competition.
“I judged 23 classes in the bull section and 38 classes in the female section,” Mr Hughes said.
“My role was to judge the Brahmans and they have their own breed of cattle which is something I am really excited about.”
The university has bred the Kamphaeng Saen breed over many decades.
“They’ve taken their native Brahman, a weedy, type of animal, and over the last 40 years on the campus they’ve crossed it with Australian Brahman a number of times and then crossed with French Charolais,” Mr Hughes said.
“They’ve come up with this breed that they call a Kamphaeng Saen.
“It’s a heavy muscled, tropically adapted breed that has got heat and tick resistance.
“Growth rates and early maturity are two stand-out attributes.”
Mr Hughes and wife Tammy visited a processing facility where they inspected the carcase of the breed and ate the meat.
“It’s got beautiful marbling in the meat, very tender and it ages well,” Mr Hughes said.
“I think they are on to a winner but I guess one of the drawbacks is poor nutrition they have to work with in the open grazing systems over there, mind you there is not much open grazing because of the heavy population.”
Mr Hughes, who also judged the junior showmanship sections at the show, was impressed with the quality of the Brahman breed on show.
“In the main they are heavily influenced by Australian and American bloodlines,” Mr Hughes said.
“Their show cattle and presentation is no different to anywhere else and the lead of their cattle would stand up anywhere in the world in a show ring.”
Mr Hughes said there were opportunities for Australia to help the Thai beef cattle industry, which he estimated was about 10-15 years behind Australia and America in terms of genetics.
“I was very intrigued to think that Thailand have done some much that we don’t know about in terms of making in-roads into developing a breed of cattle that is suited to their environment, tropically adapted and with phenomenal weight gains,” Mr Hughes said.
“They do have foot and mouth which is a huge challenge but in saying that they are doing a great job in the way they are pursuing the benefits of having a breed of cattle they can integrate through the production lines over there.
“I see a lot of opportunities in the training whether it be through the nutritional landscape or cattlemanship landscape.
“There are huge opportunities like what the Northern Territory Cattleman’s Association is doing with Indonesians in bringing them into mustering camps.
“There are opportunities to do the same with Thailand but it’s whether industry or government is interested in doing that.”
