Over the years, the late Ed Mears worked to produce top-quality Red Brangus by combining “high selected” Nelore bulls with his outstanding Leachman-bred and McFee-bred Red Angus females. In addition, he used the genetics of the outstanding half-blood bull, Copper Nine, and his son, El Cid.

In 1995, Ed’s longtime friend, Marcos Machado Borges Jr, purchased a group of highly selected Red Brangus females females from the Mears herd to start the Red Brangus operation, MBJ Ranch.