PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
C
an I welcome you to the annual Simmental Review, the flagship publication of the British Simmental breed. This year’s Review is again packed with over 220 pages of content of all things British Simmental, the UK’s number one continental beef breed for age at slaughter, and recognised as a maternal mainstay of the country’s suckler herd. I’m delighted to say that the 2021 Review highlights a strong year of breed performance at the point of sale, both in pedigree and commercial rings, and indicative of an increasing commercial demand for the breed’s dual-purpose qualities. As well as all of the usual features you will see that this year’s publication again focuses on profiling commercial and pedigree herds, situated across all regions of the UK, using Simmental genetics to advantage and increasing profitability. The inaugural Next Generation Simmental Sale of Females & Weaned Calves at Carlisle in December 2021 saw a top price of 16,000gns for a weaned calf, and with an excellent sale clearance and strong averages. It rounded off the year on the front foot, confirming the demand for quality Simmental cattle, and bringing a sprinkle of ‘feel good’ factor to the membership. Through the year, and due to the Covid situation, numbers were again reduced at sales across all breeds, but the Simmentals still enjoyed some record breaking averages and prices at centres across the country. In addition to the Next Gen Sale at Carlisle, the May trade at Worcester saw a record breed average and it remains an ongoing priority to further develop the breed’s sales in England. Highlighting the sale year, and underpinning strong Stirling sales, February 2021 saw a Simmental breed record sale average set of £6482 (+£1443 on the year), and a top price of 26,000gns, the second highest for a Simmental bull sold at auction in the UK. Most encouragingly, quality Simmental bulls sold readily to commercial and pedigree buyers in all four home countries.
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The Review is also the perfect vehicle for me to again thank each and every member for your ongoing support of British Simmental, it is greatly valued and appreciated. The Society is built around the foundations of the membership and the sole aim is to provide you with professional membership and technical services, whilst promoting the breed to best advantage and developing new and existing markets. In the year over forty new members joined the Society which is another huge positive. I’d like to welcome all to the Simmental family and wish you many years of successful breeding with British Simmental. This is also a timely point to touch on those members who have sadly passed away in the year and fitting tributes are paid within the Review. Each added so much to the breed and Society respectively. We have valued their friendship over the years, and our thoughts are with their families. Through 2021 we have worked hard to engage with commercial producers to promote the efficiency and profitability of the breed and will continue to do so as a further priority. Highlighting the performance of the breed at auction marts across the country and through social media has galvanised this and proved popular. So please do forward any market snippets of Simmentals ‘doing the business’ at sales and we’ll be happy to publish them. In the year ahead we are looking to extend this commercial engagement and are aiming to initiate a series of farm Open Days at herds with a Simmental influence. I feel there is no better promotion than seeing the breed in action, close up and personal, and on a working farm that we can all relate to. The Society has also worked hard to develop its social media presence and particularly through Facebook to push such events. Regular posts highlighting the abilities and qualities of Simmental cattle around the country, and advertising performance and upcoming sales have proven to be a powerful and cost-effective breed promotional tool.
