AB Simmental Tour 2011

This weekend we went on the Alberta Simmental Tour. The tour was held in the Rimbey/Bentley area this year, and it was a beautiful day to get outside, look at some cattle, and visit with old and new friends.

The tour started at Lockhart Valley Simmentals. We toured their herd of cattle, seeing a pen of replacement heifers, as well as a set of cow/calf pairs with bull calves. Tina and Lee, the owners raise traditional, red and black cattle. It was great to see a mix of what the Simmental breed can do.

Next we headed over to Darryl & Anissa Friessen's farm. Here we see a set of their commercial cow/calf pairs. They are just commercial breeders, but use a lot of Simmental genetics in their herd, including AI'ing their females to purebred Simmental bulls to get  the best genetics possible.

The final stop was at Beechinor Bros Simmentals. We have become very good friends with this family over the years, as we have bought 2 herd sires with them. The Beechinor's are great people, and showed us a set of yearlings, cows with heifer calves, and cows with bull calves. It is neat to go through their cattle, as they have many of the same genetics as us, because of the 2 bulls we have bought. Beechinor's also raise traditions, reds and blacks, so again it was a great cross section of the breed.

In the final field that we toured I found an old friend of mine. In 2005 during the World Simmental Congress we sold the pick of our herd in the sale. Beechinor's were the buyer of this lot, and ended up picking a 2yr old of mine that I had bought as a heifer calf. Paradise was not the most friendly show cow, but she sure has done well for herself both at Beechinor's and having a few daughters at our farm.

Paradise at 7yrs old.

It was a great day, and the rain held off for the most part. We will be sure to take part in it again next year, as it is a great way to really see what the breed and breeders have to offer.