15th June to 1st July 2008

Click here for more information

The Simmentaler’s centenary song was released at the recent banquet in Pretoria.  To download the song, right-click on the link and choose Save target as... -  Simmentaler Centenary Song (1.8 MB).  Only the Afrikaans version is available.

 

SIMMENTALER SE GOUE JARE

Refrein:

Telers klink ’n glasie bier
Op jou bakgat winsbees dier.
Bonkig mooi en glad gespier
Vir elke veeboer ’n groot plesier.

Melk en vleis is albei te kry
Teen genetika kan niemand stry
Nêrens is soveel in een bees te kry
’n Wenner sal jy altyd bly.

Verse:

Rustige rooi bees met brille
Karkas kampioen en goeie bulle
Swaar kalwers sonder grille
Vrugbaar met kop vol krulle.

Gewilde kruisbees van formaat
Honderd jaar al maak die boere staat
op jou vermoë en genootskapsraad
Sukses is van doen nie van praat.

Lirieke:  SJ Du Toit, Tweeling – Simbra teler
Toonset:  Protrax Production House – Juliette Schutte
Kunstenaars:  Danie & Wilna Erasmus

A         Contact the office for your password.

B         Visit  www.simmentaler.org or www.simbra.org

C         Click on MEMBER AREA.  In Username field type your member number and your password in  Password field.  Then click on Download files (top right).

The following files will be listed:

1          2005_BREED_GENETIC_TRENDS.PDF     (Genetic Trends for the breed)

2          SIBS_2005_intro_herd_report_pdf     (An explanation of the annual herd profile) 

3          SIBS_2005_percentiles.pdf    (The Breed’s Percentile Table)

4          123456_GROUPEBV.DAT    (Annual Herd Profile File for HerdMaster, Unzipped)

5          123456_GROUPEBV.ZIP    (As 4 but zipped)

6          123456_group_repts.123456.pdf     (Your Herd Profile and herd’s genetic trend)

To down load any of the above mentioned files e.g. Herd Profile, follow the following steps:

Click on the name of the file and choose if you want to open or save it on your computer.  If you want to open, Click Open.  It will then open in Acrobat.  If you want to save the file (that we recommend), click Save and select then a “directory” on your computer and again click Save.  If you do not have the Acrobat program on your computer, then down load it from the Simmentaler or Simbra web page (also on the home page), or contact the office for the CD.

The certificate is the responsibility of the breeder.  We ask breeders again to please check the birth date, identification and parents on calf book certificates as soon as they receive them.  Note any mistakes on the certificates, sign it and return it to us for correction.

Some of our breeders in performance testing receive incomplete weighing lists because they don’t cancel animals as they should. Stud animals moved to the commercial herd and weighed together with stud animals (to the advantage of the breeder) must be cancelled by writing CODE 7 on the reverse side of the certificate.  These animals will then stay on the weighing list.

Die kanse is baie goed dat die rangorde van bulle in ‘n intensiewe toets (soos fase C of intensiewe fase D) baie gaan verskil van die rangorde as dieselfde bulle onder ekstensiewe veldtoestande getoets word.  Voorbeelde van goue meriete bulle wie se nageslag swak vaar op veld en andersom is al in DIE REGISTER gepubliseer.  Ons moet onthou dat gewigstoename op veld nie net met groei potensiaal te make het nie, maar waarskynlik ook met loop vermoë, aanpassing en veral ook met die vermoë om veld effektief te benut.  Die beste groeitoets vir bulle is om alle bulle op die plaas tussen 300 en 500 dae op een dag te weeg.  Hier die mening van twee wetenskaplikes.

Prof G Erasmus: “An animal’s true genetic potential can only be realised by optimum feeding (a common misconception).  This may be true, but of what use is it in animal breeding?  It is better to speak of genetic ability, since genetic ability, under sub-optimum feeding is of equal, if not of greater importance.  If we want to breed animals with a low sensitivity to environmental change, we must select in an environment which acts in a direction opposite to the change that is desired.  This means that if we want to increase weaning or other body weights and fleece weight, we must select under poor feeding conditions, but if we want to decrease fibre diameter, we must select under good feeding conditions.  This is generally known as Falconer’s paradox.”

Dr O Syrstad: “The safest, and usually the most efficient, approach is to base selection on the performance of animals as expressed under environmental conditions similar to those which their progenies will be exposed to.”

As for many years already in many well known beef cattle producing countries our Society no longer makes use of indices or weights to compare animals with each other – we use breeding values.  Why are breeding values so important?  When a farmer looks at a bull, the largest part of what he sees is controlled by the environment (food, management, weather, etc.) and the smaller portion is due to genetics.  Only the genetic component is transferred to his progeny.  However, we can’t see this genetic component separately from the environment’s influence and therefore for example we can’t tell how much milk a bull’s daughter will give or how fast his progeny will grow.  The breeding values are the genetic merits of an animal and therefore bulls are purchased mainly on ground of EBV’s. Beef cattle farmers’ can improve their herds very quickly by selecting breeding values.  

Click here for breeding values of Simmentalers. (Only complete identification or name of animal).

Link to the Society’s page or let our Web Master (tel: 051 - 522 3663 or info@123internet.co.za) design your page.  Click here for an example.

Breeders that apply performance testing now get, by means of a password, entrance to their animals’ details.  Contact the office for your password and click then on “Member Area” on this web page.  You can for example search the following ...

... all active animals in your possession today ...
... animals not inspected yet ...
... dead and/or alive star cows ....
... all animals with pigmented eyes in the herd ....
... all cows with a Simdex above say 105 ...
... cows with milk breeding value (or any breeding value) say under breed average ....
... all progeny of a certain bull (or cow) ...
... breeding values of all the animals to be presented for inspection ... and many more possibilities.

You can by means of this Internet facility download data of all your animals on your own computer.  Contact the office for a manual.

The new birth notification books which make provision for eyelid pigment and management codes is now available from the office. Even better … Click here for more information about the computer program that create birth notifications or click here.

Stars are allocated to cows which excel in reproduction, milk and weaning weight breeding values. One-Star cows must have calved 4 times, Two- star 5 times and three-star more than 5 times.  Click here and read item (5) for a list of star cows.

Similar results were found in a study in Florida with bos indicus.

Proof 2:  In the USA they conducted a study of calving intervals (ICP’s) on 330 000 beef females from eight beef breed associations.  This study showed that females with high yearling weight EBV’s have longer average calving intervals.  Females in the upper 20 percent for yearling weight EBV in each breed had longer average calving intervals than the low- and intermediate-group females of the same breed.  (Brink and Kniffen).

Proof 3:

Selection for increased growth rate and size tends to result in higher birth weight.  These heavier birth weights create more calving difficulty.  The genetic correlation between birth weight and post birth weight/gain is: weaning weight .58, 18 month weight .60, gain birth to weaning .38, feedlot gain .54 and mature weight .68.

From this it is clear that especially mature weight or size and 18 month weight are highly correlated with birth weight and the chances are good that if you select for these two traits you will increase birth weight.  (Greyling).