Simmental 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.

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.

[3] 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 latter being particularly popular in the United States).