Breeds have seldom been developed out of some grand plan or scheme. Brafords, like most breeds we recognize today, were born of necessity--the necessity to consistently and efficiently produce a uniform product in challenging production environments. Working with a base herd of Brahman cows that were primarily Partin and Hudgins breeding, Alto Adams Jr. began using Hereford bulls on his St. Lucie county, Florida ranch in 1947. The resulting steer and heifer calves were outstanding, but, the Hereford bulls required to produce those calves had extreme problems with feet, eyes and general livability. Adams quickly realized that using Hereford bulls, that were not adapted to South Florida, was simply not economically feasible and he began experimenting with various types of Brahman-Hereford cross bulls. Eventually he was able to identify Braford bulls that were producing the calves that met his needs and he used these bulls and their offspring to form what is recognized as the Foundation Herd of the Braford breed in the United States.
 
     By basing bull selection on weaning and yearling weights and allowing natural selection to eliminate calving problems, Adams Ranch Brafords improved through the years to the point that Adams Ranch began to think of breed development and recognition. The International Braford Association (IBA) was chartered in 1969 to begin registering Brafords. The IBA operated an office in Fort Pierce, Florida, until moving its headquarters to Nacogdoches, Texas, in 1991.
 
     The American Hereford Association formed a second Braford organization, the American Braford Association (ABA), in 1985. The emphasis in the ABA was to produce 3/3--5/8 Brafords based on modern Brahman and Hereford bloodlines. ABA breeders also concentrated on producing Brafords with full pedigrees.
 
     After many successful years of registering and promoting Braford cattle in the United States and foreign countries, the International Braford Association and the American Braford Association joined forces on June 1, 1994, to form the United Braford Breeders (UBB).
 
 

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