From its inception in 1877, NAPCO's herd consisted of Shorthorns, and for over 100 years any variation in company stock was confined to within that breed. To cope with conditions on Alexandria, larger and longer-legged Shorthorn bulls that could cover greater distances between feed and water and could cope with less food were purchased. Also, after tick problems associated with the floods of the 1970's, the company sought sleek-coated Shorthorn bulls.
By 1982, however, it was recognised that Bos Indicus cattle were better suited to the harsh inland tropical conditions. Shorthorn cows were highly productive mothers but calf losses were substantial due to extremes of heat and the inability of mothers to cope with dry times. NAPCO's breeding strategy was revised in line with the awareness that crossbreeding could bring greater tolerance of the environmental conditions of northern Australia, together with increased weaning weights of 20 to 30 per cent through heterosis ('hybrid vigour'). Different breeds could be exploited to achieve these outcomes by blending and matching important traits such as reproductive performance, maternal ability, growth rate and carcass characteristics.
Brahmans were introduced to the Alexandria Shorthorn herd to take advantage of their environmental adaptation, particularly to heat and ticks, with 1984 being the first year for Brahman cross calves (the F1 generation). Marked benefits were soon evident in faster growth, improved butt shape and vastly reduced fat depth compared with the pure Shorthorn. The F1 females were clearly better suited to the northern environment, with increased calvings and weanings and lower calf losses.
From the mid-1980s the company worked closely with geneticists Maurie Josey and Ken Rowan from Gatton Agricultural College to develop and refine the composite breeding program.
Two other breeds, Belmont Red (for high fertility, docility and meat quality) and Charbray (for a high yielding, low-fat carcass), were introduced. F1 breeders were joined to Belmont Red and Charbray bulls and their progeny mated across the lines to produce the final Alexandria composite. The breakdown of the Alexandria composite bloodlines is thus a mixture of five breed types: 5/16 Shorthorn, 3/8 Brahman, 1/8 Africander, 1/8 Charolais, and 1/16 Hereford.
In the early 1990's, the progeny of the Alexandria prorgam were introduced to the pure Brahman herds on Boomarra and Coolullah. By 1994 all maiden heifers on Alexandria were joined only to composite bulls bred on the property. Since 1997 composite females from Alexandria have progressively replaced breeders elsewhere, and by 1998 all bulls transferred from Alexandria to other breeding properties were full composites. There has been a marked improvement in productivity, with a high proportion of composite females calving at two years of age. Moreover, as marketing became more sophisticated through the 1990s with higher prices paid for younger bullocks, there were accompanying benefits in that the crossbred cattle were maturing earlier and were well adapted to high-priced markets for both grassfed and grainfed animals.
