The British Simmental Review 2022

“In addition, we’ve always invested in both Simmental and Hereford
poll bulls and as a result don’t have to do any dehorning at all;
polling takes away the stress for both us and the animal and removes
any potential growth checks,” says James.
2023 sees the Turners embarking on a new journey when they
introduce the first new pedigree Simmental genetics to their Stone
Acton herd in 30 years. “We considered we needed some new
bloodlines and buying in registered stock is providing us with the
opportunity to rebuild the pedigree herd and develop a new added
value enterprise.
“We’ve purchased five heifers from the Mixbury Hall herd, specifically
selected for their high health status being BVD and IBR accredited,
Johne’s Level I and Lepto vaccinated.”
To the future and James says the family is planning to maintain a
flexible low input system. “There’s scope to make more from forage,
potentially cutting back on the volume of sheep taken on winter
tack, making minimal fertiliser applications, exploiting the red
clover introduced to the silage leys and introducing GS4 mixes.” It’s
a strategy that perfectly fits with Simmental which will continue to
have a firm place.”
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