13/08/2010
The Key Simmentals Herd owned by John and Simon Key of Mundham
in Norfolk has been recognised by EBLEX as the Most Improved
Herd for the British Simmental breed.
The award is presented
by the EBLEX Beef Better Returns Programme (Beef BRP),
to the recorded herd that shows the greatest genetic gain
for commercial traits over a 12-month period. There is
a separate award for each of ten UK breeds.
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| John and Simon with some of the The
Key Simmentals Herd |
The Key family
have farmed at Mundham for three generations and John has
worked with commercial sucklers since the age of 16. In 1980
he decided to breed pedigree Simmental cattle and established
the herd with two heifers from the Fressingfield Herd.
Last
year, John’s son, Simon became a partner and they
now farm 65ha (160 acres) of which half is in HLS. There
are 25ha (60 acres) of arable and the rest is used for grazing
with an additional 30ha (73 acres) of low input grass for
hay and silage. The pedigree herd now comprises 90 animals.
The
Keys’ are using embryo transfer and artificial
insemination to speed genetic progress, using the top sires
in the breed. For this to be successful, they believe it
is vital to have accurate performance data for their herd
so they can match appropriate bulls to their cows.
“It is also important to use tools like Estimated
Breeding Values to track how the herd is progressing,” explains
Simon Key. “Recording allows us to quantify improvement
of traits such as growth rates, which is important as the
modern farmer is relying on facts and figures rather than
eye alone.”
Calving takes place mostly in early spring.
The calves have access to creep feed and are weaned at seven
to eight months, when they are brought in and separated.
The better heifers are kept as replacements and some are
sold to other breeders. The bulls are pushed on more than
the heifers and fed a home-milled ration. One or two of the
animals are selected for showing. Any animals that do not
make the grade go to the abattoir at around 12-14 months.
Currently,
the majority of bulls are sold to commercial producers at
around 14-17 months old. However the aim is to eventually
produce high quality home-bred stock bulls to sell at pedigree
sales and to other breeders.
As well as using AI, the Keys
have also used a non-recorded bull, Hollingwood Tom, purchased
in 2008 to improve the cows’ conformation.
“He is a very beefy bull, with a good back end,” explains
Mr Key. “He won the Royal Show in the yearling bull
class in 2007 and is doing a very good job on our cows.”
The
Keys intend to bring in new, high quality bloodlines, recently
buying six new females with high EBVs for milk production
and calving ease to ensure the calves have the best start
in life.
Well earned reputation
Regular customers come back year after year and the Keys
are well known through the pedigree showing circuit.
“Dad has been selling stock for a long time,” says
Simon Key. “At one time it wasn’t unusual to
sell 15 bulls off the farm year on year.”
Asked how
they felt about winning the award, Mr Key said it has boosted
their confidence and confirms that they are moving in the
right direction with regards the type of animal people want
to buy.
Norwich producer Paul Harvey runs a commercial herd
of 30 suckler cows and has bought four bulls from the Keys
over the past ten years.
“Key Simmental sires are lovely, long bulls, producing
calves with good growth rates and that consistently perform,” says
Mr Harvey.
“Being local to the Keys also makes it easy for me
to go and view the bulls at home, and buy them straight from
the farm.”
Recently, Mr Harvey sold 18-19 month old
cattle as stores through Norwich market making up to £800
a head, which he felt was a good return on his investment.
David
Copsey who farms near Colchester runs a closed herd of 30
Simmental cows.
In 2004, he decided to purchase his own bull
having previously used AI. He first saw Rigsby at the Suffolk
show and was instantly impressed by his nature and placid
temperament. After a few more viewings he bought him.
Since
then he has worked consistently, and remains very placid.
He is a big, long bull and works very well with Mr Copsey’s
cows; throwing strong calves which grow well and have good
conformation. The incidence of cows throwing twins has also
increased: 15 sets from Rigsby, compared to only three sets
over the last 35 years from AI straws, when one twin would
usually be weaker and underperform. Now this is not the case;
both calves tend to be good strong calves, and the cows rear
them both without a problem.
“Rigsby is certainly putting his stamp on the herd,” explains
Mr Copsey. “He has the edge when compared to using
AI straws.”
A local butcher buys all Mr Copsey’s
bullocks, which kill out at R4L, and sells them through his
shop.
“The Keys have been in business a long time and there
is not much John doesn’t know about cattle,” says
Mr Copsey. “They provide good heifers and bulls and
sell consistently good quality animals – all from a
disease free herd.
“If anything happened to Rigsby I would go straight
back to the Keys for a replacement without hesitation.”
Capitalise on improved breeding
“While beef prices are relatively high, now is the
time for pedigree and commercial producers to capitalise
on improved breeding,” says EBLEX breeding specialist
Samuel Boon.
“It is definitely worth taking time when buying stock
bulls and replacement heifers to source genetics that will
have the greatest economic impact on the herd.
“By recording the performance of their animals, pedigree
producers like John and Simon are allowing farmers to make
informed purchasing decisions rather than leaving it to chance,
and hoping the chosen bull or prospective dams will deliver
on commercially important traits.
“All the winners of the Improved Herd Awards record
the performance of their herds, providing valuable information
so that their customers can produce animals that meet farmer,
processor, retailer and consumer demand, as efficiently as
possible.
“I congratulate the Keys on the excellent job they
are doing with the Key Simmentals Herd and breed overall.”
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