Upcoming sales at Mt Ararat Simmentals
Mt Ararat cattle producer John Leek is holding his tenth annual Beef Week Simmental sale on his property at 126 Mt Ararat North Road, Nar Nar Goon on Saturday, January 29.
John will again be offering a selection of quality bulls and females. Mt Ararat has topped the Simmental national sale on a regular basis with top price bulls of $40,000 and an average of $9,000 -$10,000 over the last few years. They have continued to improve the quality of their Simmentals. This
year’s bull lineup includes some magnificent animals varying in age, by Mt Ararat Pioneer(P), and Woonallee Nightcap(PP) – their Homozygous polled bull, along with many lovely females. Mt Ararat Simmentals have sourced their genetics from Australia’s best. "We started at the top end buying females at 12 months-old for $15,000-$16,000 and
we then brought them home and mated them to the best bulls in Australia and it's put me in a good position because we have some of the best bulls in Australia genetically," John said. "It makes you very popular with people who are after a bull because everybody is after the best quality they can get and we're trying to breed an animal that is superior to all others." Raised on a dairy farm at Yannathan, John developed a passion
for the Simmental breed at a young age due to their popularity and good temperament. "I used to crossbreed them with Angus which is very popular for the beef market and that's what I mainly stuck too but other breeders up north are crossing them with Brahmans and that has become hugely successful up there," John said. "Studs are now taking bulls up Rockhampton way, taking the Simmentals to the doors of the Brahman breeders, and that's because they've genetically been made to perform." John said Simmentals were renowned for their milking ability and consistent meat composition, making them an “all-round" breed. "The other factor that is very important is temperament - and they're probably the three main ingredients to a Simmental because they're very docile," John said. "Their fat cover is really
great these days because of how they've been bred.” John believes his bulls are as good as any in Australia and is now looking forward to Beef Week. “We breed polled and homopolled cattle of the highest standard. Having hornless cattle is the only way to go. We have not experienced any decrease in size or weight in our polled or homopolled cattle. They say polling can take away size – we believe this is a myth – we have bred polled bulls that have grown to well over 1250kgs,” John said. The stud philosophy is to breed polled cattle, with perfect temperaments which are structurally perfect and fertile with the very best genetics. Simmentals are especially popular for cross breeding with other breeds. This creates hybrid vigour, increases meat yield and quality when crossed with other breeds. John said his long-time friend,
Nerrena farmer and butcher Simon Greaves understood the Simmental quality. “The yield of hybrid beef, following cross breeding Simmental over other breeds is exceptional,” Simon said. Mt Ararat Simmentals also offers tailor made semen and embryo packages. See Mt Ararat Simmentals line-up of 11 magnificent bulls and 20+ females in calf to Mt Ararat Pioneer and Woonallee Nightcap at their Beef Week sale. Light refreshments will be available with under cover seating. All cattle will be yarded within meters of each other for ease of viewing. Mt Ararat Simmentals will also be holding a sale on the property and ‘auction plus’ on Friday, February 4. The sale will feature 11 bulls, 10 heifers and 10 x 3-in-1 units. Call John on 0409 537 445 for further details on both sales or contact Ryan Bajada of Elders on 0435 411 536.