Backmuir take Bronze in 2024 Simmental Miss Europe The results are in and British Simmental genetics are again to the fore in this year’s online 2024 Simmental Championship of Europe, taking silver in the Overall Champion of Europe, and bronze in the Simmental Miss...
Backmuir Kenzie’s Nespresso make 9500gns 8500gns Islavale Raven wins Weaned Calf Championship Maiden heifers average £5024 Simm X Hi Health heifers average £1823 The December 2023 born Islavale Peace from WS Stronach, Berryleys Farm, Grange, Keith sold for 15,000gns...
• Lisglass Heifer wins Senior Championship • Haystar Revolver lifts the Junior Championship Northern Ireland Simmental breeders were out in force at the fourth staging of the NI Club’s Annual Calf Show held on Saturday 30th November, at Ballymena Livestock Market....
Official Simmental Society Sales in the Year Gross £2,003,927
A strong year of performance for British Simmental has seen pedigree registrations and birth notifications surge with an increase of 15% in the year to an overall total of 7,388, up by 960. The figures released by the British Simmental Cattle Society are for the pedigree registration year of 1st July 2021 to 30th June 2022.
Sitting alongside these figures is a similarly strong performance at the point of both commercial and pedigree sales and which has seen Official Society Pedigree Sales in the same period nudge through the £2Million mark to gross £2,003,927. In the course of the year the Simmental breed enjoyed some record sale averages and clearances, most notably at Stirling in February when 89 pedigree bulls sold to a new breed record average mark of £6,835. In a new sale fixture introduced to ‘grow the reach of the breed’, the Next Generation Sale of Females & Weaned Calves at Carlisle in December saw a top price of 16,000gns, with heifer averages of £4,396, and bull calf averages of £6,174.
In the year, pedigree registrations increased by 13.5%, with birth notifications enjoying a 19.8% increase and this overall surge for the Simmental breed was warmly welcomed by the Society’s President Stewart Stronach, Maisley, Keith, Banffshire, who said: “Simmental females are naturally efficient, healthy, easy to manage, and just full of milk. Adding value to any cross, they are maternal mainstays of the commercial suckler herd, can calve at two years old, and can wean calves at 50% of their bodyweight at 200 days.”
“In 2021 AHDB confirmed Simmental as being the leading continental beef breed for age at slaughter, and this couples with Simmental sired progeny being fast growing, with terrific weight for age and leaving a high yielding, profitable carcase. These are the natural attributes and efficiencies of the modern British Simmental that are driving demand, forging a profitable commercial future in an industry with a higher cost base, and meeting the ‘green’ challenges of reducing beef productions carbon footprint.”
“We welcome these improved registration and sale figures, and collectively our focus will be to continue to work hard and provide commercial beef producers with future fit, profitable dual purpose Simmental genetics.”
The next pedigree sale under the Society’s auspices will be the much-anticipated Dispersal Sale of the noted Annick Simmental Herd, Holehouse Farm, Irvine, held on behalf of the late Lachlan Quarm, at United Auctions Stirling on Saturday 10th September.
