The Simbra is a relatively new breed of cattle, developed in the 1960s, in America, when professional breeders selectively crossed Simmentalers with Brahmans, to produce a “package” of the best of these breeds.
In South Africa, the first Simbra was developed and registered in 1986, with the idea of combining the excellent meat and milk production capacity of the Simmentaler with the disease resistance and hardiness of the Brahman.
The Simmentaler Cattle Breeders Society of Southern Africa changed its constitution in the 1980s, to facilitate the Simbra, turning it into the registering authority of the breed in Namibia, South Africa and Botswana.
Attributes
Cattle need to comply with strict physical and performance requirements to register as a Simbra, which is one of the reasons why the Simbra has become one of the most popular and most produced breeds in South Africa. Fertility is seen as the highest priority.
The Simbra is generally a medium framed animal, with cows on average weighing around 450 kg to 580 kg and bulls weighing around 600 kg to 800 kg. The size of a cow or bull largely depends on the production environment. Cattle in effect will be slightly larger in areas where there is an abundance of feed than in areas where the veld is poorer.
Simbra cattle have a small hump on the back and their ears are slightly larger than those of European breeds. They have horns, but breeders are in the process of developing polled lines.
The breed society does not pay much attention to the colour of the animals, posing that an animals performance is more important than skin colour. The Simbra breed, in effect, is usually light brown or red with white on the face. Eyelid pigmentation, nevertheless, is a prerequisite for the registration of third and fourth generation animals, to prevent eye and skin cancer problems. Curly and woolly coated animals are also not allowed to register, since studies have shown, that these do not thrive under stress.
Production Regions
A wide range of Simbra and first generation Simmentaler-Brahman crosses are allowed to register as Simbra, according to Simbra South Africa, allowing the breeder to dictate the best combination for his environment, management and customers.
In temperate regions, where weaner production is important, there will accordingly be a higher percentage of Simmentaler in the breed whereas the percentage of Brahman will be higher under more strenuous conditions. The animals are produced in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana.
Use
The advantage of using a Simbra instead of a crossing system, is that you always have the best mix of the Simmentaler and Brahman. This also makes the management of a herd easier. They are used for crossbreeding in commercial herds and produce calves that are sought after by feedlots.
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