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Fun facts about the Simmental Breed Simmentals originated in Switzerland in the middle ages. At that time, the breed was used both for meat and milk. However, the primary purpose for the breed now is for beef. Simmentals have heavily muscled frames combined with a length and weight that yields a high percentage of prime cuts without an excess of fat. Generally bulls weigh 2200 to 2800 lbs, while cows weigh 1400 to 1650 lbs. Their appearance in colour can range from a light tan to black or red with white markings. At Sunset Ridge, approximately 1/3 of our herd is purebred Simmental with emphasis on polled red factor genetics. The foundation of the purebreds have been purchased from Otter Creek Farm, owned by Jack Hansen, of Thunder Bay, Ontario. In the fall of 2009, nine cows and four open heifers were purchased from Nor-West Farms in Austin Manitoba at David Buhler's herd dispersal sale. They consist of red genetics from his herd bull TH Red Omen 40 P and a few traditional Simmental cows from various sires. Our plan is to continue with red genetics and introduce black genetics in the next few years. We appreciate the type of brood cows that solid red and black Simmentals will make. They cross well with Angus cattle to produce carcass traits that fit our retail beef demands. In the future, we may consider marketing purebred genetics if there are demands such cattle. This year's breeding season is just about complete and we bred the majority of the purebreds to AI sires. The AI sires used include TNT Top Gun, Remington Red Label HR, and STR King Arthur. Angus AI sires include Dateline and Redwood. The herd bulls Otter Creek Walter 13W and Otter Creek Uhro are used for clean up while on pasture.
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