Contemporary groups refer to groups of animals that have been exposed to very similar environmental factors throughout their lives, thereby accounting for all environmental factors when comparing the performance of the animals for a specific trait.

Please save the date and take note of the Simbra Spring Showcase events happening between the 3rd and 5th of September 2024 in Parys at the Afridome.

The Simbra Cattle Breeders’ Society of Southern Africa wishes to extend heartfelt gratitude and thanks to Mr. Pieter Meyer for his dutiful years of service to the society as Breeder Liaison.

The Simbra Cattle Breeders’ Society of Southern Africa recently underwent an exciting makeover!

The start of the second phase of the Beef Genomics Program (BGP2) has been met with great anticipation. BGP2 commenced in April 2024 and will extend for a period of three years.

A Simbra Breeders Information Course was offered from 23- to 24 May 2024 by the Wilckens family, Ondeka Simbra. The Simbra Breed Director, Mr Kobus Bester, was the Course presenter and shared a lot of his knowledge and experience with the Breeders during these two days of gathering.

In May 2024, the Simbra Society presented a beginner’s course for the students of the University of the Free State (UFS) at the university experimental farm and at Mr Chris Richter’s farm outside of Bloemfontein.

On March 12th and 13th of this year, several judges and inspectors came together in Lindley, Free State for an accreditation course.

Functional efficient cattle for profitable farming – Marius Potgieter, Marichelle Simbra stud, Simbra Breed Examiner and Senior Judge

Bloem show 2024 was a show which far exceeded the expectations of stockman and the public in general, the show this year had over 5000 cattle and over 3000 small stock on show.

Genotyping is the laboratory testing and analysis of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) to investigate the genetic makeup (profile) of an individual.

The 2023 Simbra Spring Showcase took place from the 4th – 7th September 2023. The festivities began on Tuesday, 5 September with a wonderful opening ceremony

The 15th annual LRF Stockman School took place from the 11th-13th of October 2023, at Aldam.

The global population is increasing and parallel to it the demand for food is increasing. The amount of land available to produce more food, however, is not.

Vir meer as 15 jaar al bied die Maré’s van Klerksdorp ‘n Simbra beginnerkursus aan vir graad 11 leerders van die Klerksdorp Hoërskool.

Fertility is a complex, polygenic trait that is concerned with an animal’s quality of being fertile or its ability to conceive offspring.

The Simbra society moved over to the new selection indexes earlier this year where there is significant emphasis on fertility (Days to Calving and Scrotal Size) in all three indexes.

On the 14th of June Bleka Simmentalers and Simbras hosted their annual beef information day. The day was very well attended by commercial farmers from the area and was very interactive.

Pompe disease is a lethal inherited genetic disorder leading to acid maltase deficiency. This leads to a buildup of glycogen in muscle and nerve cells and impairs normal tissue function.

On 23 and 24 May 2023, the Simbra Society held a beginners course for the University of the Free State (UFS). Many thanks are extended to Mr Chris Richter who generously hosted us on his farm outside of Bloemfontein.

The royal show took place from 26 May to 4 June 2023 in Pietermaritzburg. The KZN Sim Club hosted both the Simbra and Simmentaler breeds at their Royal showground’s clubhouse for the last time.

The office has put together a useful resource that explains what is required in every column of the DNA3 Producer Submission (780) Form. This resource is available on the Simbra website and can be downloaded for your convenience

Double muscling is associated with muscular hypertrophy (increase in the number of muscle fibers) and arises from a mutation in the myostatin (MSTN) gene.

Joshlin Simbra, Blue Water, Eastern Cape, competed at Bloemfontein show, May 2023.
Thursday 4 May, simbras were judged by the very experienced Jaco Mare and Carl Rautenbach.

Congratulations are extended to Mr Diethelm Metzger who was elected as Vice-president

Please save the date and take note of the Simbra Spring Showcase events happening between the 4th and 9th of September 2023 in Parys at the Afridome

In its simplest term, inbreeding is the result of mating closely related individuals. Inbred offspring are more likely to inherit recent copies of the same allele from each parent

As part of Simbra’s mission to provide quality service and leadership to both it’s members and the broader industry – on the 15th and 16th of March the Simbra Society, with the sponsorship of Plaasmedia and Molatek hosted two Beef Cattle Information Days.

Op die 17 November 2022 het Sentraal Vrystaat Klub ‘n baie suksesvolle bees inligtingsdag by Edenburg Golfklub gehou. Die dag was goed geondersteun

On the 2nd and 3rd of March, the Simbra Society held a beginner’s course for the Central University of Technology (CUT). Mr Phillip Viljoen was kind enough to host us on his farm outside Bloemfontein.

The Simbra society moved over to the new selection indexes and also moved onto a new version of Breedplan (V6.2). This newer version of Breedplan contained some updates to the models, particularly for the Days to Calving Model.

The need for accurate, objective and reproducible measurements of body composition has long been of interest in livestock production. Real-time Ultrasound (RTU) scanning is not only a measure of the physiological makeup of an animal, but also an indication of carcass traits

The Society received a number of requests in the last breeders meeting to make someone available to assist breeders with the capturing and submitting of data to the Simbra office.

Internal parasites such as roundworms (nematodes) regularly infect ruminants. High infection burdens can have a detrimental effect on the health and production of the animal.

It is well known that reproduction is the most important factor in determining profitability in a cow-calf enterprise, and the poor reproductive performance is directly linked to body fat in beef cows.

The primary role players in the red meat industry, namely the Red Meat Producers’ Organisation (RPO), the National Emerging Red Meat Producers’ Organisation (NERPO), the South African Feedlot Association and the Red Meat Abattoir Association requested the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP) to set a vision for 2030 for the red meat industry.

Congenital Myasthenic Syndrome, more commonly known as CMS is caused by a deletion of the homozygous base pair 20 (470del20), the function of this base pair is to code for the epsilon subunit of the acetylcholine receptor at the neuromuscular junction.

The English version of the Breeders Manual has arrived, and the Afrikaans version is currently at the printers. This Breeders’ manual aims to provide Simbra breeders with the essential information,

We would like to welcome the following new breeders to the Simbra family

Myostatin is found in all mammals and influences the protein that controls muscle development. Natural mutations of the gene produce proteins that are less effective at controlling muscle development, and often results in increased muscle mass (Double Muscling).

At our AGM in March 2022 the importance of Clubs and Regional Representatives were identified as a strategic intervention. From March to date this strategy was implemented and many Simbra events were arranged throughout the country with great success and positive feedback from the attendees.

Many farmers have been affected by the recent “lockdown” placed on the movement and sale of cattle due to Foot-and-Mouth disease (FMD).

Generalised Glycogenosis (GSD-II), more commonly known as Pompes, is a lethal inherited genetic disorder which

Over the past few months there have been a number of Simbra Courses that have taken place.