The study was carried out in Bench Maji Zone, Southwest Ethiopia. The objective of the study was to identify the production systems of the Surma cattle population under farmer management conditions and to identify Surma cattle breeding practices of pastoralists and agro-pastoralists in the study area. A total of 184 households were considered for questionnaire administration. A purposive multistage stratified random sampling technique was used to determine the number of districts, Kebeles, and households. The data were gathered through field observations, focus group discussions, and semi-structured questionnaires. Livestock rearing was the main (73.4%) means of livelihood for the community in the study area. Natural pasture was the only feed resource for Surma cattle, and cattle were herded on communal grazing land. Traditionally named “Fora”, this nonconventional mineral source is used for supplementing Surma cattle. Most (70.7%) of the respondents practiced castration of males for the purpose of controlling inbreeding, followed by fattening (25.5%). The majority (70.1%) of the farmers in the study area depended on uncontrolled natural mating. The majority (92.9%) of the respondents practiced selecting replacement animals to achieve their breeding objectives. Sixty-seven-point four percent (67.4%) of the pastoralists also mostly depended on coat color (red, 44.6%, Fawn (spotted), 28.3%, white, 23.9%, and black, 3.3%) to replace their animals. The average lactation length was approximately 5.69 months, and the average daily milk per cow was 1.45 liters for Surma cattle. This study provided basic information on traditional knowledge associated with their cattle rearing systems, breeding concepts, selection strategies, breeding objectives, and utilization in the agro-pastoral and pastoral communities in the Surma area. Therefore, substantial interventions must be made to make the sector sustainable, improved, and productive, especially in areas such as herd selection and breeding practices.