Belmont Red

Belmont Red
A bull
Conservation status
  • FAO (2007): not at risk: 143 
  • DAD-IS (2026): at risk/endangered
  • RBTA (2026): watch
Country of originAustralia
Distribution
Traits
Weight
  • Male:
    average 950 kg
  • Female:
    average 550 kg
Horn statushorned

The Belmont Red is an Australian breed of beef cattle. It was developed from about 1956 by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation at the Belmont Research Station near Rockhampton in Queensland. It originated as a three-way cross-breed of Africander, Hereford and Shorthorn. Stock was available for purchase from 1968. It is one of three cattle cross-breeds developed at Belmont; the others were the Adaptaur – a Hereford/Shorthorn cross, formerly known as the Belmont Adaptaur – and the Belmont BX (from Brahman, Hereford and Shorthorn).: 100 

History

The Belmont Red was bred by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation at the National Cattle Breeding Station (Belmont Research Station), on the Fitzroy River near Rockhampton in Queensland. Bulls of the Africander breed – taurindicine cattle in the African Sanga group – had been purchased in 1953 from the King Ranch in Texas.: 100  From about 1956 these were crossed on both Hereford and Shorthorn cows, and the Africander × Hereford and Africander × Shorthorn offspring were then inter-bred.: 37 : 100  The resulting hybrid – nominally 25% Hereford, 25% Shorthorn and 50% Africander – was then selectively bred for growth rate, fertility and resistance to ticks.: 37 : 100  Some use was also made of other breeds including Boran, Charolais and Tuli, but these had little effect on the final result.: 100 

Stock became available for purchase from either 1968: 37 : 908  or 1969; the breed was recognised either in 1968: 37  or in 1975,: 908  and a breed society – the Australian Africander Belmont Red Association – was established in 1978;: 37 : 908  this later became the Belmont Red Association of Australia. Exports began in 1976 with a shipment to Indonesia.

In 1992 the total number of the cattle was estimated to be between 1200 and 12000; in 2022 it was estimated at 1329–1527, with 55 bulls in service and 920 breeding cows. In 2022 there were 1582 new registrations in the herd-book.

In 2007 its conservation status world-wide was listed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as 'not at risk';: 143  in 2026 it was listed in the DAD-IS database as 'at risk/endangered' and by the Rare Breeds Trust of Australia as 'watch'.

Characteristics

Coat colour was not among the criteria for selection during the development of the breed; the coat is predominantly solid red, although some white markings may occur.: 908  The cattle are of medium size, with an average weight of about 550 kg for cows and 950 kg for bulls.: 908  Both sexes are horned; the horns curve downwards and are not large.: 908 

Use

References

  1. 1 2 Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to: The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Breed Data Sheet: Belmont Red / Australia (Cattle). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed September 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Cattle: Belmont Red. Glenlyon, Queensland: Rare Breeds Trust of Australia. Archived 8 September 2026.
  4. ↑ Transboundary Breed Summary: Belmont Red. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed September 2026.
  5. 1 2 Matt Sherrington (26 April 2018). The Belmont Red: An Australian-made marvel. Queensland Country Life. Archived 7 September 2026.
  6. 1 2 Matt Sherrington (23 April 2021). Belmont Red ticks all the boxes. Queensland Country Life. Archived 7 September 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Cattle breeds: Belmont Red. Orange: Department of Primary Industries, NSW Government. Archived 15 June 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.
  9. ↑ Ralph Bodkin Kelley ([1959]). Native and Adapted Cattle. [Sydney]: Angus and Robertson. Cited by Felius (2025), page 908.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Valerie Porter, Ian Lauder Mason (2020). Mason's World Dictionary of Livestock Breeds, Types and Varieties (sixth edition). Wallingford; Boston: CABI. ISBN 9781789241532.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Marleen Felius (2025). Cattle Breeds of teh World. Leiden; Boston: Brill. ISBN 9789004449015.
  12. ↑ Breed objectives. Belmont Red Association of Australia. Archived 11 April 2026.