Simmental
- There is also a kind of cattle called Simmental.
Simmental is a valley in the Bernese Oberland. It expands from Lenk to Boltigen, in a more or less South-North direction (Obersimmental), and from there to the valley exit at Wimmis near Spiez it takes a West-East orientation (Niedersimmental). It comprises the Communities of Lenk, St. Stephan, Zweisimmen, Boltigen, Oberwil, Därstetten, Erlenbach, Diemtigen and Wimmis. The Simme flows through the valley.
Some villages play an important role in the winter tourism of the region of Bern, such as Lenk or Zweisimmen. From Zweisimmen one can also go to the world-reputed Spa of Gstaad and then to the Château-d'Œx.
Further up is the Jaunpass, which must be crossed to go from Bulle to Freiburg, as well as the Hahnenmoos, which links Lenk with Adelboden.
(By Peter Massmann)
Namibia was the first country outside Europe where the breed was successfully established. First imports were during 1893 by the Government of the then German colony who promoted importation for crossbreeding to improve “the milk and meat production of the indigenous cattle” (Stals). Currently the Simmental stud breeders are only outnumbered by the Brahman. More than half of all the stud breeders in Namibia who farm with breeds of British and European origin, breed Simmental.
A Namibian interbreed test, carried out in the late 50’s by the Department of Agriculture, was world wide the first time where Simmentals were tested under extensive beef producing conditions. The superior performance of the breed in these trials of ten beef breeds over a period of ten years, was the main reason for the introduction of the breed to North America, South America, Australia and South Africa
South Africa (SA) The first Simmentals were imported to SA in 1905 by President MT Steyn, the then President of the Free State Republic. These animals were registered under the breed name “SWISS” by the SA Stud Book Association. The adaptive and productive capacity of the breed exceeded all President Steyn’s expectations and his Simmental herd flourished despite the harsh climate of the area, with its very hot summers and very cold winters (MT Steyn).
The breed took a minor position in SA until the early 60’s when the results of the aforementioned interbreed tests were published. The superior performance of the breed in these trials, as well as its outstanding performance at growth testing centres played an important role in its increased popularity . It soon became apparent that the supply did not meet the demand and between 1960 and 1970 large numbers were imported to SA, first from the then South West Africa and later Fleckvieh from Germany and to a lessor extend from Austria. Hardly any animals were imported from Switzerland and France. Imports decreased considerably due to the development of a locally adapted type.
Breeders’ Society In 1964 breeders in Namibia and South Africa formed a Breeders’ Association for Southern Africa. Today, this young breeders’ association is third after the Bonsmara (local synthetic) and Brahman (Zebu) in number of registered females amongst the 32 non-dairy breeds. Compared to 16 other British and European non-dairy breeds in SA, Simmental has more recorded animals than the second, third and fourth largest together.
The Society’s main objective is to provide its members with a comprehensive service comparable to the best in the world at local-market related prices. Besides consulting services, annual farm visits, the Society handles its own modern registration and world renowned BREEDPLAN performance testing services.
Industry leader The breeders’ association is rated as being very progressive with new programs to serve the industry. In the mid 70’s the breed was the first to move away from the subjective method of judging by combining reproduction and appearance in the show ring. It is the only Society where judges, in terms of the Constitution are compelled to consider reproduction data in the placing of cows. Simmental was in the eighties the first with an AI bull testing scheme, a farm growth testing scheme for young bulls and a star cow register for cows, which excel. The well known Simdex (SIMmentaler reproduction inDEX) system, which combines intercalving period, age at first calving, number of calvings and even embryo flushings, was introduced in 1988. It was also the first breed society to introduce classes for performance tested bulls (1979) and Blup EBV classes (1999) for bulls.
Simsational performance How does the breed perform compared to other popular performance tested breeds (more than 2 500 performance tested females – Beef Breeding in SA, 1993-98) ? Reproduction index (ICP and age first calving) = 1st, Weaning weight = 1st, year old weight of heifers on farm = 1st and feedlot growth (intensive bull testing) = 1st
In the National Carcass Competition where carcasses of all breeds and breed crosses are judged annually at a large number of shows, Simmental crosses have won the South African National championship more times than any other breed or cross.
The Simmentaler Society makes use of the world’s most advanced beef cattle genetic evaluation system viz. BREEDPLAN , to estimate breeding values (EBV’s) for a large range of important characteristics.
The bull buyer’s friend Since the foundation of the Society, inspection by independent breed experts has been a prerequisite for registration. Visual traits with functional merit are strongly stressed in this system. Animals that do not meet the requirements and their progeny are not issued with a certificate. The certificate of a Simmental is therefore the proof that the animal as well as its ancestors has been inspected according to stringent standards.
The main reason for the sustained popularity of the Simmental in Southern Africa is that this breed is successfully used for crossbreeding of BOTH (i) cows with high milk production and (ii) rapid growing weaners/steers.
Visit the web page http://www.simmentaler.org and click on ‘English version’