ABBA member Josefina & Alfredo Muskus of Santa Elena Ranch & ABBA International Chairman Dinah Weil of HK Cattle work hard to promote Brahmans Worldwide.

Do you want to become a real citizen of the world? Join our Brahman family and you will automatically have something in common with many people around the world…Brahman cattle! These people may speak many different languages and be a part of diverse cultures, yet they all share a common bond with their passion for the Brahman breed. You too can be a member of this very special club!

When I joined the American Brahman Breeders Association as its Recording Secretary in 1976, I had very little knowledge of geography. ABBA Executive Vice President at that time, Wendell Schronk, started sending me to attend Brahman shows and conferences around the world and that was when my real lessons began. If you want to see the world, in a very enjoyable way, then travel with the ABBA and see where our Brahman genetics have come from and where they have made an impact in the global beef industry.

A quick look at a world and you’ll see that there are Brahman cattle on every continent with the possible exception of Antarctica. Isn’t it fascinating that the American Brahman breed, with origins in India, Brasil and Mexico, has now become a leading beef breed of cattle around the world! After the ABBA was established in 1924, cattleman worldwide started to see the benefits of using Brahman cattle to produce protein - both beef and milk - in many tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world.

During the late 1950s and early 1960s, American Brahmans began to show a recorded increase in international sales. In 1959, nearly 5,000 registered Brahmans were recorded as international sales - approximately 50% of the total recorded sales for registered Brahmans that year. In order to help maintain this interest with breeders and other businesses involved in international trade, the ABBA established its International Committee. This committee has become increasingly one of the most active and productive of the association’s standing committees. The International Committee promotes Brahman cattle throughout the world by providing judges and trophies to international shows, and hosting educational seminars and receptions around the Brahman world.

ABBA Members Jim and Rhonda Usery of J&R Farms enjoying a Brahman sale in Colombia.

One of the biggest international events is the World Brahman Congress, which is held every two-years in rotating locations around the world. The most recent Congress was held in 2008 in Texas, and hosted by the ABBA. The ABBA is indebted to Dr. Kevin Bryant for planning and implementing an extraordinary event.

Whenever a World Brahman Congress is being held, the International Committee assembles a group and invites all breeders to attend and represent the United States. ABBA helps in organizing breeder’s travel itineraries, transportation, and provides translators if needed. At this great event, Brahman breeders worldwide have the opportunity to rub shoulders with leading breeders from around the world and enjoy a fine showcase of Brahman cattle during the Congress’s show competition.

The next World Brahman Congress will be held in October 2010 in Uberaba, Brasil. Get your passport, your Brasilian visa and contact Armelinda Ibarra at the ABBA to get on board to attend this exciting and educational event.

It only takes one trip outside of the United States to see the real appreciation and necessity there is for our Brahman cattle as close as Mexico, or Central America or South America or Asia (Australia, Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia) or the African continent. Don’t just take my word, sign up for the greatest adventure of your life!

By Dinah Weil
Printed in The American Brahman Review, Spring 2010

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