Composite breeds
Modern breeds crossed from two or more: Brangus, Santa Gertrudis, Bonsmara, Droughtmaster and Karan Fries.
Composite breeds are modern breeds made by crossing two or more established breeds and then breeding the result into a stable type. Most were built in the twentieth century to put European yield or meat together with zebu or sanga hardiness. The Santa Gertrudis of Texas, Brangus, Beefmaster, Bonsmara of South Africa and Droughtmaster of Australia are beef composites. On the dairy side, India's Karan Fries and Frieswal, Brazil's Girolando, the Australian Milking Zebu and the Jamaica Hope bring Indian zebu and European dairy breeds together.
How a composite is made
A breeder starts by crossing two or more parent breeds, then mates the crossbred animals with each other over several generations, selecting hard for the type they want. Fixed fractions are common: a breed might aim for three-eighths Brahman and five-eighths Angus, as the Brangus does. When the type breeds true enough, a breed society is formed with a herd book. Composites keep some of the vigour of a first cross without needing to keep both parent breeds.
Beef composites
The Santa Gertrudis was developed on the King Ranch in Texas from Brahman and Shorthorn cattle and was recognised in 1940 as a breed. The Brangus combines Brahman and Angus, and the Beefmaster was built on Brahman, Hereford and Shorthorn. In South Africa, Jan Bonsma's work produced the Bonsmara from Afrikaner, Hereford and Shorthorn. In Australia, the Droughtmaster comes from Brahman and Shorthorn. All aim at beef cattle that do well in heat.
Dairy composites and India
India has bred its own composites for the tropics. The Karan Fries, developed at the National Dairy Research Institute in Karnal, crosses Tharparkar with Holstein Friesian, and the Karan Swiss uses Brown Swiss. The Frieswal combines Holstein Friesian and Sahiwal. Elsewhere, Brazil's Girolando crosses Gir and Holstein, the Australian Milking Zebu was bred from Sahiwal and Red Sindhi with Jersey, and the Jamaica Hope is mostly Jersey with Sahiwal blood.
Worth knowing
- Santa Gertrudis: Red Texas breed from Brahman and Shorthorn
- Brangus: Black polled breed of Brahman and Angus
- Bonsmara: South African beef breed built on the Afrikaner
- Droughtmaster: Australian Brahman and Shorthorn breed
- Girolando: Brazilian dairy cross of Gir and Holstein
- Frieswal: Indian dairy composite of Holstein Friesian and Sahiwal
- Australian Milking Zebu: Tropical dairy breed from Sahiwal, Red Sindhi and Jersey
- Jamaica Hope: Jamaican dairy breed of Jersey with Sahiwal
Good to know
- A composite needs a breed society and records to stay a breed; without them it drifts back into crossbreds.
- Match the composite to the climate: the zebu share is what carries heat and tick tolerance.
Sources and further reading
- Santa Gertrudis cattle on Wikipedia
- Brangus, Wikipedia
- Bonsmara, Wikipedia
- Girolando, Wikipedia
- Frieswal, Wikipedia
Original text by the EveryCow desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Customs are described as tradition, not as advice. If we have something wrong, tell us.
Composite on EveryCow
The breeds written up so far, best known first.
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreBrahman
An American beef breed with a hump and grey or red coat, bred from Indian zebu cattleComposite · Beef · Heat-tolerant
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreBrown Swiss
A medium-sized American dairy breed descended from the Alpine Braunvieh, kept for high milk yield and cheese-making.Composite · Dairy · Rich milk
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreBeefalo
A cattle and bison hybrid raised for beef in the United StatesComposite · Beef · Cold-hardy
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreSanta Gertrudis
A red American beef breed created from zebu and European cattle in Texas.Composite · Beef · Heat-tolerant
🇦🇹 Austria and 5 moreFleckvieh
A large Central European dual-purpose breed, red and white pied or solid red, kept for milk and beef.Composite · Dual-purpose · Docile
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreMarchigiana
A large white or grey Italian beef breed from the Marche, once worked as an oxTaurine · Beef
🇺🇿 UzbekistanBestuzhevБестужевская
A dual-purpose Uzbek breed of the Soviet era, resistant to bovine leukosisComposite · Dual-purpose · Disease-resistant
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreSenepol
A polled red beef breed from St Croix, built for heat and insectsTaurine · Beef · Heat-tolerant
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreBrangus
A black polled beef breed from the United States, combining Angus meat quality with Brahman heat tolerance.Composite · Beef · Heat-tolerant
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreLuing
A hardy red or dun beef cow from Luing, a Hebridean island, first made in 1947Composite · Beef · Cold-hardy
🇧🇷 BrazilGuzerá
A Brazilian humped breed from Kankrej and Crioulo stock, usually grey or whiteZebu · Beef · Polled
🇯🇵 JapanJapanese Brown褐毛和種
A small brown beef breed from Kōchi and Kumamoto, one of the four wagyūTaurine · Beef
🇧🇷 BrazilCanchim
A Brazilian beef breed, white to cream, with a small hump, bred from zebu and CharolaisComposite · Beef · Heat-tolerant
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreTaurus cattle
Long-legged cross-bred cattle bred in Germany to stand in for the extinct aurochsComposite · Grazing
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Canchim: Unknown author, CC BY 2.5, source
- Brahman: AlejandroLinaresGarcia, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Brown Swiss: No machine-readable author provided. Malcolm Morley~commonswiki assume, Public domain, source
- Guzerá: Jose Reynaldo da Fonseca, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Luing: Andrew Wood, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Senepol: Buenoperez, Public domain, source
- Marchigiana: Nicola Romani, CC BY-SA 2.5 it, source
- Fleckvieh: Josef Moser, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Brangus: JIRCAS Library, CC BY 2.0, source
- Santa Gertrudis: Cgoodwin, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Taurus cattle: DFoidl, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Beefalo: Mark Spearman, CC BY 2.0, source