British Simmental Review 2018

FEMALE
CLASSIFICATION
FOR BRITISH SIMMENTAL CATTLE
What a privilege it is to write a few lines in the
Simmental Journal.
It is now some 3 years since the Simmental Cattle Society
ventured into Type Classification. I was fairly confident
the scheme would be a success, one of the reasons being
that all Simmental breeders that were in dairying before
they went into beef were in favour of classifying because
they knew the advantages it would bring to the breed.
The scheme certainly identifies the strengths and
weaknesses in your cows. If you make use of all the
information that is available after your herd is classified,
then you will find it is a great advantage to help you in
selecting bulls in AI or purchasing a stock bull.
The last year has certainly seen a number of new herds
coming on board. The more cows that are scored the
better because it will give a clearer picture of the quality
of cows around the country.
As a team of classifiers, we are very impressed with what
we are seeing, the milking ability of the Simmental cow
and the way she feeds her calf. As breeders you are to be
congratulated!
I think legs & feet are the main traits that some breeders
need to be careful and concentrate on, certainly when
buying stock bulls.
If any of your clubs or a group of individuals ever want a
talk or have a demo on a farm (which is better than a talk)
then just let us know.
Good luck to you all and keep breeding good cows.
Thanks
Meurig James
Classifier - HUK
038 www.britishsimmental.co.uk