The Raya cattle are however adapted to draught animals for tillage in the croplands of the highlands.

[1] Ethiopia has been at a crossroads for cattle immigration to Africa[3][4] due to Furthermore, the diverse agro-ecology led to diverse farming systems which, in turn, made Ethiopia a centre of secondary diversification[3] for livestock : The lowlands of Ethiopia are good for cattle breeding: there is abundant feed in the rangelands, and pastoral communities have a good knowledge and practice of selective and controlled breeding.

Raya breeders use traditional methods of animal identification and intra-breed selection.

They also cull unwanted male calves based on information on their genitors.

They only sell off oxen to outsiders, in order to protect and maintain the genetic resource from interbreeding with adjacent breeds.