Origin
The Barzona is a composite breed of beef cattle developed in the high desert, inter-mountain region of Arizona in the 1940s and 1950s. The performance-based development process utilized a base of Hereford/Africander commercial cows and added genetics from Angus, Santa Gertrudis and Zebu cattle. Emphasis was on the cows' performance rather than the bulls' performance so it can be said that the Barzona breed is the only breed developed specifically through the dam line rather than the sire line, and solely on performance.
Characteristics
The Barzona is a medium sized cow, red in color, with a long face, and little to no white markings. Calves are born at around 60 pounds, are streamlined for calving ease, and very vigorous at birth. Market steers average 1200 pounds and mature much earlier than other zebu infused breeds.
The Barzona was and is bred and selected for qualities of heat tolerance, insect and disease resistance, hard-footedness, browsing and wild-type grazing, and ability to travel long distances to and from water. Cow production emphasis is on early maturity, fertility and calving ease, survive-ability, and the ability of a cow to breed and wean a calf every year that will go on and perform in the feed lot and on the rail, grading high choice and prime 90% of the time or better.
Breed Registry and Programs
The Barzona Breeders Association of America records and tracks pedigrees of the breed, and is currently looking into marketing and also developing EPD's (Expected Progeny Difference) for the breed.
Web site: www.barzona.com
