Moreno Ranches has gained a reputation of producing champion red Brahman cattle. Deservedly so. One of the most recent historic events in the breed revolved around the fact that Moreno Ranches, at the prestigious International Brahman show in Houston, Texas, last march was awarded Calf Champion Female, Reserve Calf champion Female, Intermediate Champion Female, Junior Champion Female and Reserve Grand Champion Female! This made Moreno Ranches the first red Brahman seed stock producer to win this many championships in one show in recent years.
Our Bloodlines
Many people ask us what kind of bloodlines we have incorporated in our red Brahman herd and why our red cattle look different than your traditional red Brahman cattle. Here are some of the historical facts. Since 2007 Moreno Ranches purchased the bulk of the herd of the long established Dr. Carl McKenney, a herd that had been selected for performance and maternal ability for over 40 years. At that time the Moreno family also purchased all the natural calving cows and heifers that Dr. McKenney had in inventory. Since then the herd has acclimated to the South Florida climate and ways of operations at our ranch.
The herd at that time was composed of registered gray and red replacement Brahman heifers and cow calf pairs as well as bred Brahman cows. The herd went through the acclimation period and adapted well. The cattle that were too large or did not adapt where then culled. After a 4 year natural breeding period and selection period, we had established a core group of Brahman females as donors. In the Fall of 2010, the management and operations of the purebred Brahman herd at Moreno ranches was turned over to Kelvin Moreno, following his graduation from the University of Florida. At this time, the young entrepreneur decided that he was to establish the ranch headquarters in Venus, Florida, since most of the commercial cow calf operations of the Moreno family were already there.
Reaching New Highs of Genetic Quality
It was not long before Mr. Moreno, as a young and aspiring person, decided to grow the Brahman cattle herd to reach new highs and decided that he would place an aggressive growth plan to motion. In June of 2011, Moreno Ranches opened a new on site genetics center and hires the contractual services of one of the most prestigious genetic companies in the business: TransOva Genetics. At this same time the Moreno’s decided to launch their embryo transplant program and set a goal of 400 pregnancies of purebred Brahman calves by the end of 2012. After several years of selection and projections, we had selected a group of quality cows that we designated as donors.
In October of 2012, the Moreno’s purchased, through a private acquisition, all the donors at Bennett Farms in Choudrant, LA. This included mostly gray donors with a strong V8 and JDH bloodlines, but cows that were very sound in their reproduction and had proven to be functional maternal Brahman females for that program. In the same purchase, there came the leading herd sire, +MR KC JUSTICE MANSO 847, who is currently being used in both our red and gray Brahman herds. Later that year in November of 2013, the Moreno’s acquired the entire red herd from Bryant Red Brahmans of Gilmer, Texas. This herd was world renowned for producing champion after champion not only in the United States but also all around the world.
Some of the legendary blood lines would included +MR 3H X-RAY 825, BB Bronson 299/3, MR 3X “THE HERD BULL” 20/3, MR 3X LOOK “OUT” 30/2, +MR 3X HE’S GOT THE LOOK 40/2, and BB LEGATUS 222/2; all some of the greatest American Red Brahman sires, that have over the years helped shape the Brahman breed with utmost quality. Then, Moreno Ranches purchased the Infinity Cattle Company herd – a solid red herd of cattle that had been composed primarily of the HK blood lines. Our intention was to widen the genetic capacity and inventory to make all lines of cattle more open genetically. To date, Moreno Ranches continues to add new genetics and to push the bar on searching and creating the best red cattle in world.
We work tirelessly to produce the best!
