The Barzona is a composite breed of beef cattle developed in the high desert, inter-mountain region of Arizona in the 1940s and 1950s.  The performance-based development process utilized a base of Hereford/Africander commercial cows and added genetics from Angus, Shorthorn and Zebu cattle.  The registry was closed in 1955.

During the first years of development it was considered important to maintain specific percentages of each breed that went into the foundation. As time went on the performance of the individual animals became more and more important and less and less related to breed percentages. By the third cross only the animal's performance was used to select the breeding stock. Also, the emphasis was on the cows' performance rather than the bulls' so it can be said that the Barzona breed is the only breed developed specifically through the dam line rather than the sire line, and solely on performance.

The Barzona was and is bred and selected for sub-tropical qualities of heat tolerance, insect and disease resistance, hard-footedness, browsing and wild-type grazing, and ability to travel long distances to and from water.  Cow production emphasis is on early maturity, fertility and calving ease, survive-ability, and the ability of a cow to breed and wean a calf every year that will go on and perform in the feed lot and on the rail.