The small, but mighty Braford breed took to the ring at the Royal Queensland Show this afternoon to showcase the best genetics of the merged Brahman and Hereford beast.
Whilst exhibitors may have been limited, the quality was superb with the original founding Rea family name sweeping the floor across all sections.
Elwyn and Joanne Rea of Edengarry Braford Stud, Kunwarara claimed top gongs with their genetics fetching both champion bull and champion heifer.
The winning bull Edengarry Echo 2569 was born in January 2021 and weighed in at 582 kilograms, with an average daily gain of 1.03, a P8/Rib fat depth of 7/5 milometers and an eye muscle area of 95 square centimetres.
The champion bull was born out of sire Linlora Echo 333 and dam Edengarry 2196.
The champion heifer went to 17-month-old Edengarry Haily 2564 who is the genetics of sire Linlora Echo 333 and dam Edengarry 2398.
Mrs Rea was present on the ground to accept the champion ribbons, however Mr Rea, who was recovering at home in central Queensland after recent surgery, said he was thrilled to hear of the result.
"It's always pleasurable and lovely to get a win," he said.
"It means you're keeping up with what's happening in the industry."
A founding member of Braford breed, Mr Rea said he was a second generation producer of Edengarry Braford Stud and the family commercial operation.
"We run the stud, but we breed a lot of bulls for our own operation," he said.
"We find it more economical to breed good ones and pass them through our commercial system as well."
Mr Rea said the commercial operation sold largely direct to works.
"Everything has got such a commercial focus on it now, you've got to keep that going," he said.
"We also use the Brafords for cross breeding purposes as well. Keeping your commercial focus is utterly important."
As for the animals themselves, Mr Rea said quality structure was important within their herd.
"We just look for a good structured animal all the time, especially with their feet because of modern day feed-lotting," he said.
"If you've got good feet on them they'll keep eating the grain, if they've got bad feet on them, they'll get sore feet and won't perform as well.
"I think showing is good for you because it keeps you aware of where you fit into the game.
"It keeps you focused on the better animals rather than saying 'oh I've got a better one at home', but they've never been outside to be tested."
Looking forward, Mr Rea said they would continue working their genetics for the next Beef Australia exhibition in 2024.
Edengarry Braford Stud also took out the grand champion exhibit with winning bull Edengarry Echo 2569.
Competition judge Ben Noller said the young beast possessed worthy attributes.
"I really liked the muscle pattern and carcase traits in this bull," he said.
"He is an easy fleshing type of bull with good bone.
"Getting behind him, he's nice and thick and carries that muscle right down into his hoof."
Results:
Breed: Braford
Judge: Ben Noller
No. of exhibits: 7
Champion bull: Edengarry Echo, Edengarry Braford Stud
Reserve champion bull: MCN Malaya, St Joseph's Nudgee College
Champion female: Edengarry Haily, Edengarry Braford Stud
Reserve champion female: Kaydeeay Glenda, Brendan Lau