Originating in the valley of river Simme (German: valley = tal) in Switzerland, the Simmental breed’s beginning can be traced back as far as medieval times. Systematic breeding however did not start before the early 19th century. Besides Switzerland Bavaria soon turned out to become the most important breeding area for the breed. Today the German Simmental breed has spread all over the world. In cross breeding programmes it is used on all continents. Cross breeding local breeds in North and South America as well as Africa, Asia and Australia to German Simmental has proven to effect in an increase of the meat production.
Due to it’s alpine origin, German Simmental cattle can easily cope with different kinds of climatic circumstances. Neither hot nor cold temperatures, dry or humid climates cause problems. The breed’s adaptability to varied environments and management practices is one of it’s most important features. Simple grazing provides German Simmental cattle with all that is necessary for reaching top figures in the production of either milk or meat. In Germany the total number of German Simmental cattle is 4.5 million with the biggest populations to be found in Bavaria (3.8 million head) and 650.000 in Baden-Wurttemberg. In 1998 the average German Simmental cattle herdbook cow’s performance was 6,200 kg of milk with 4.5% milkfat and 3.4% protein.
Statistics prove that the average daily gain of meat was 1.315 gramms with the percentage of meat in the slaughtered individual reaching 69,4%! These figures underline why German Simmental cattle is so popular worldwide - not only for beef-procucing industries!