Warm weather breed | Alberta rancher sells Brahman genetics
Alberta farmer David Andrews fell in love with Brahman cattle on a trip to the United States.
Their friendly attitude drew the man in, and he decided he wanted to try raising them as a hobby.
He didn’t know the hobby would grow into a breeding program with 25 to 35 head of cattle on his Irricana farm.
Orders for Brahman embryos and sperm started arriving in the early 1990s when Andrews was one of the few Brahman breeders in Canada who produced polled Brahman cattle. The American Brahman Breeders Association also recommended him.
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Andrews said his sales got started by answering the telephone.
“I got calls from other countries saying, ‘we hear you have Brahmans’ and they would order right there.”
Other than the breed’s love of hot weather, Andrews said raising Brahman isn’t that much different from raising other cattle.
However, breeders must ensure they have adequate shelter for the animals.
“We have temperatures down to -40 C and I have my barn doors open,” he said.
“I hang freezer strips on the doors of my barn. They go in and out whenever they want.”
Andrews said the freezer strips hold the heat in the barn so that it doesn’t get terribly cold inside. Giving the animals the freedom to wander as they please is a big part of his success.
Andrews has sold live Brahman to six provinces, while embryos and semen from his herd have been sold to Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Mexico, Belize, the United States, France, Germany, the Isle of Man and the United Kingdom. He is currently shipping embryos to England.
He said his prolific sales in Europe are due to Canada being one of the few countries that can ship Brahmans to Europe. It also explains why people are buying the breed in Canada and not in a hotter climate such as Texas.
“The U.S.A. cannot ship to Europe, very few countries can,” Andrews said.
European producers are interested in Andrews’ cattle, which are polled, because animal welfare rules don’t allow dehorning.
Michael Latimer, manager of the Canadian Beef Breeds Council, said cattle exports benefit Canada, whether they are exotic or traditional.
“If we can export our genetic material, it gets our reputation out there.”
Brahman may not be one of the larger Canadian breeds, but it still produces value for the breeder.
Despite their tough meat, Latimer said they have other qualities, such as their loose skin, which allows them to shake ticks off their hides. Breeding Brahman with more traditional British-continental cattle can increase meat quality, he added.
