It was developed in the 1950s by a New Mexico rancher looking for beef cattle which could survive on poor fodder in the arid Southwest.
It is one of the few cattle breeds with any known Bison influence, another being the Beefalo.
[2] Art Jones, the original breeder, began by crossing Hereford, Shorthorn and Charolais, and later added extensive crosses with Brahman and Bison.
[3] All individuals of this rare breed display the genetic marker for Bison ancestry.
[1]: 125 A breed society was established in 1976; in 2016, it was inactive.