Simmental cattle

The Simmental or Swiss Fleckvieh is a Swiss breed of dual-purpose cattle. It is named after the Simmental – the valley of the Simme river – in the Bernese Oberland, in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. The breed is typically reddish in colour with white markings, and is raised for both milk and meat. Among the older and most widely distributed of all breeds of cattle in the world, and recorded since the Middle Ages, the Simmental breed has contributed to the creation of several other famous European breeds, including the Montbéliarde (France), the Pezzata Rossa d'Oropa (Italy), and the Fleckvieh (Germany and Austria). It originates from the Simmental, the valley of the Simme river. Namibia (1893) and South Africa (1905) were the first countries outside Europe where the breed was successfully established. Here the breed is known as Simmentaler and is mainly used for beef cattle production under suckler cow systems. The Simmentaler breeders' society is, as far as registered animals are concerned, by far the largest of the 17 European and British breeds. The main reasons for its popularity are (i) it can be used with great success in crossbreeding for breeding of both cows with much milk and heavy weaners/oxen, (ii) its superb weight growth rate in feedlots - pure or crossed, and (iii) a strict visual inspection is compulsory for registration in the Herdbook. The first Simmentals arrived in Russia by 1850, coming from German and Swiss varieties.