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 Montbeliarde, the Pezzata Rossa d'Oropa, and the Fleckvieh.
Africa
Namibia and South Africa 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. Today, the breeders' society is, as far as animal numbers are concerned, the fourth largest of the 32 nondairy breeds in Southern Africa. The main reasons for its popularity are it can be used with great success in crossbreeding for breeding of both cows with much milk and heavy weaners/oxen, a large number of performance-tested bulls, comprehensive advice and other breed improvement services to its breeders, and animals that do not pass stringent inspection by breed experts, are permanently eliminated from the herdbook.
In the former Soviet Union, the Simmental was the most important cattle breed. Russian Simmental accounted for one-quarter of all cattle in the USSR. Through extensive crossbreeding, six strains were developed:Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations / Domestic Animal Diversity Information System: Retrieved 3 July 2013.
In 1990, there were 12,849,800 Simmental in the USSR. In 2003, the Simmental count in Russia stood at 2,970,400.
Different names
The breed is known under the following names
Fleckvieh Simmental: Argentina
Simmental: Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, USA, Zambia and Zimbabwe
Fleckvieh: Austria, Germany, Netherland, Spain, Switzerland and Uruguay
Simmentaler: South Africa and Namibia
Local names based on the breed-name used in the official breed association names which boil down to "spotted cattle": Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia. Most of these countries use Simmentalas a translation of their local name.
Pezzata Rossa: Italy. Montbéliarde: A French dairy breed. Member of European Simmental Federation but not of the World Simmental-Fleckvieh Federation.
Characteristics
Traditional
The Simmental has historically been used for dairy and beef, and as draught animals. They are particularly renowned for the rapid growth of their young, if given sufficient feed. Simmentals provide more combined weaning gain and milk yield than any other breed.
Africa
In contrast to countries which allow black and solid brown coloured Simmental in the herdbook, Namibia and South Africa only register Simmentaler with the typical colour i.e. from dark red or brown to yellow spread over the body in any pattern with at least some white on the forehead and the lower-leg area, solid black or solid red animals are non-existent because they are not registered.
Types
No other breed in the world has such a large within-breed-type variation as Simmental-Fleckvieh which is classifiable in the following types:
The traditional colouration of the Simmental has been described variously as "red and white spotted" or "gold and white", although there is no specific standard colouration, and the dominant shade varies from a pale yellow-gold all the way to very dark red. The face is normally white, and this characteristic is usually passed to crossbred calves. The white face is genetically distinct from the white head of the Hereford.
