Viva and Raglan studs win major Brahman ribbons at Beef Australia

Viva Brahman stud, Middlemount, won the grand champion bull sash, while Raglan Brahmans, Raglan, secured the multi-coloured ribbon with a 33-month-old female described as a future "matriarch" of the stud.

The iconic northern Australian breed attracted the most nominations across Beef 2024, with 258 entries taking Brahman judge Matthew McCamley, Lancefield Brahmans, Dululu, almost eight hours to assess.

"I enjoyed it thoroughly and it's a bit easier being your home breed," Mr McCamley said.

"It was a tough job, there were some beautiful cattle there and I'm happy with the winners that came out, but there were a lot of cattle that didn't get up who were very worthy ribbon winners.

"I was impressed with how far the beef attributes have come in the Brahmans and just the overall completeness and package and structural correctness was pleasing to see."

Viva Brahman stud won grand champion Brahman male with Viva Maxibon, a 28-month-old bull sired by Viva Mario and out of Viva Denice.

The bull earlier won the senior champion male of the show, and was one of two award-winning animals in the competition\ for Viva, with the stud also claiming the junior champion male with Viva Augustus 2613.

Viva Brahman stud principals Alistair and Pam Davison said it was a "bittersweet" moment for the stud, five months after the bull's sire, Viva Mario, a leading bull in the stud, died unexpectedly.

"Mario won a junior ribbon here at Beef in 2015, he won the World Brahman Congress in 2016 and he won the interbreed at the Royal Queensland Show later that year," Mr Davison said.

"He only just passed away, we had to put him down earlier this year, so it's nice his son can come here and do one better than he did."

The bull weighed 889 kilograms and it was the first grand champion ribbon the stud had won at Beef.

"We're ecstatic because we only brought three head to Rocky," Mr Davison said.

"It's a pretty big result and we've had a tremendous day for a small herd, with special thanks to our neighbour and stud handler, Terry Randell.

"He's a very good friend of ours and we rang him and asked he would take them... he said he wasn't going to do it this year, but we begged and pleaded and we're so glad he's part of our success."

Mr Davison said Viva Maxibon was only selected as a stud bull in October 2023 when the stud analysed its commercial herd to find a sire potentially suitable to enter into the Rockhampton event.

"He was already 19 months old at that time, and my wife said 'I don't know if we can break him in', but to her credit she did and he was just too easy to handle," Mr Davison said.

"It's not like he has been broken in since he was a calf, he was already a mature bull when we made the decision... he's a naturally quiet bull."

The Viva Brahmans operation includes 350 stud cows and 100 heifers, plus 2500 females in its commercial breeding operation.

"Central Queensland is the home of Brahmans and the quality that was presented here today was a total credit to all exhibitors and their families," Mr Davison said.

Mr McCamley said the bull was hard to fault during the judging process.

"He had the complete package and the overall sire's outlook with the right head that you want to put on bulls, the opportunities to breed good females and the extremely good length of body," he said.

The event was also a success for the Olive family at Raglan Brahman stud, who won a string of ribbons, including the grand champion female with Raglan Miss Noella which earlier won the senior champion female.

The stud also won the reserve champion male of the Brahman show with Raglan Mr Nathan who was sired by Mr V8 Noble and out of Raglan Miss Demi.

"To win the cow at a pinnacle show like this is pretty good," Raglan Brahman stud co-principal Aimee Olive said.

"The cow is a daughter of Mr V8 Noble and an embryo flush half sister to the bull that won reserve senior so they are doing pretty good things for us."

The grand champion 33-month-old female, who was in calf, was exhibited alongside a six-month-old calf at foot.

"You always hope for the best but you're never guaranteed, we just poke along and present our cattle to the best of our ability and hope for success," Aimee said.

The Olives run a commercial herd of 4000 breeders at Raglan Station, plus a herd of 500 stud breeders and calves.

Aimee said her family, including her mother and stud owner Roxanne Olive, had a long and proud association with showcasing Brahmans at Beef Australia.

"This cow is going to be a matriarch of our stud and will be used in an IVF program," Aimee said.

"Brahmans have only ever won interbreed three times at Beef and they've all been led by mum.

"It makes me pretty proud that all those Brahmans have come out of our stable."

Mr McCamley said the Raglan female ticked all the boxes.

"I thought that she was a very functional female and I think that she will be a very low-maintenance animal," he said.

"She is one of the breeders you want to have, because when things get tough, they're the types of cows that you need in your herd.

"We all suffer from droughts from time-to-time, but that's where Brahmans thrive in those sorts of conditions."