The Brahman Cattle Breeders’ Society of South Africa, SA Brahman, was founded on 6 November 1957 in Kroonstad, in response to growing recognition of the value of this breed in South Africa.
The Department of Agriculture officially accepted the Brahman cattle breed on 3 December 1959. The breed has helped to significantly improve South Africa’s beef cattle industry, especially during its first three decades in the country, when there was a shortage of good quality genetic material.
The Brahman cattle breed soon became labelled a “chameleon” because of its unique ability to adapt and thrive wherever it was produced, and the society named it the “King of Crossbreeding” because of the remarkable impact it had when used on other breeds. The Simbra is one great example of a breed that developed thanks to the strategic cross of Simmentalers with Brahmans.
In response to the Brahman’s magnificent attributes, Brahman Cattle Breeders' Society of South Africa membership to the society increased by 466% from its 41 original members, within the first decade after the society was launched. Recorded Brahman births over this time, increased by 1297%, registrations by 582% and transfers by 1 542 percent.
By the mid-1980s the Brahman surpassed the Afrikaner cattle breed in becoming the most dominant breed, with registrations increasing from 4,4% in 1965 to almost 57% over this time. The society in 2020, boasted close to 600 members with more than 60 000 registered animals.
The Brahman is the first cattle breed to have been developed in the United States, and is now part of beef production of South Africa....