A central Queensland cattle stud has achieved a top sale at the World Brahman Congress in Rockhampton, signalling its return to form four years after a devastating outbreak of Bovine Johne's Disease (BJD).

The Kirk name has been synonymous with the Brahman breed in central Queensland for decades, with the Rockley stud established in the 1950s by late beef producer Arnie Kirk.

The stud is now run by Chris Kirk and his son Ashley, who have been breeding sought after genetics and also run an EU accredited herd of red Brahmans.

But in November 2012, the herd became ground zero for the outbreak of BJD, a chronic wasting disease caused by bacteria that lives in an animal's intestines and interferes with its ability to absorb food.

The disease is found in Australia in cattle, goats, deer and camelids.

Ashley Kirk said the past four years have challenged the family-run stud.

"We've had our ups and downs but we've handled it really well and we're proud of the way we've conducted ourselves," he said.

The Rockley stud is showing and selling cattle this week at the World Brahman Congress in Rockhampton and has achieved a top-of-the-sale result with a $12,000 heifer.

"We've marketed our Brahmans to be elite coming back," Ashley Kirk said.

"We've worked hard on the marketing side so to top the sale [means] we're meeting those goals.

"We're not back in full swing, but we're getting close," he said.

Mr Kirk said the stud was still in partial quarantine and working through a recovery process that has involved destocking and restocking.

"The disease was foreign to us, so we not only had to learn about the disease but [also] the regulation around it," he said.

"But [the process is] at a time now that we know where we're heading and that uncertainty is not there any more so we feel like the light is there at the end of the tunnel that wasn't there for a fair while," he said.

Ashley Kirk said he was excited for the future of Rockley Brahmans.

"It's just nice to be back amongst the Brahman breed, and they [the Brahman community] have been very supportive," he said.