Global leader tips "immense good" to flow from Nobbs-Baker plan

Brett Nobbs, NCC Brahmans, Inverrio Duaringa, and Tom and Lizzie Baker, Woonallee Simmentals South Australia, shared centre stage last week at the inaugural Brahman, Simmental and Simbrah sale at Inverrio.

The Brahman bulls sold to a high of $75,000 and averaged $12,965 for 95 head while the Simmentals averaged $6472 for 55 articles and 52 Simbrahs averaged $6567 at sale.

Mr Schuetze, who is the president of the World Simmental Fleckveigh Association and also the man at the helm of Buzzard Hollow Ranch in the Dallas/Fort Worth area of Texas, said the Nobbs-Baker alliance was on track to "create immense good" for the breed and the industry.

"What we are seeing here is the first year of what will be a very successful breeding program." he said.

"Being the introduction to the Simbrah breed in a big way in this part of Australia will have a tremendous impact.

"The Brahman bulls I have seen are world class and the Simmentals all have slick hair, their feet are sound, they are extremely long, milk well and their fertility is unbelievably good.

"I think the cross you can develop in this part of Australia between these breeds will be a tremendous asset to the commercial industry and that's what we need to look at.

"As pure-bred breeders or stud breeders we tend to think in segments - we think for us here, or we think there. But what we need to do is look at the long-term and what are we doing as stud breeders to aid the commercial industry and that's where we need to supply genetics that will work in the commercial industry."

Mr Schuetze insists the combined economic traits of the Simmental and Brahman breeds are enormous.

"They are the two most populous breeds of cattle in the entire world," he said. "So the crossing brings the economic of traits from both sides to create the Simbrah and once you stabilise those Simbrah cattle they become breeding tools.

"You can look at Simmental bulls and the Brahman bulls and then look at the Simbrahs and it is easy to see the explosion in the growth with these half-bloods.

"If you can stabilise the half-bloods into a breeding program - and that stabilisation can take three to four generations - they will become breeding tools just like the straight Simmental or the straight Brahman.

"I am excited for what I see going on here."

Mr Schuetze said the adaptability of Brahman and Simmental cattle was of paramount importance and breeders would be wise in invest in these genetics.

"There is only one thing free in the cattle business and it's heterosis. Everything else costs money but heterosis is the increase you get when you cross two species that are dramatically different such as Bos Indicus and Bos Taurus," he said.

"You are looking at genetic improvement in the cattle in terms of adaptability so they fit well into this part of the world and anywhere else for that matter. The Simmental have the capacity to adapt to any place - it's just not the hot and arid country or the cold climates of North America or Europe.

"Like the Brahman, the asset is their adaptability.

"There are so many similarities with what we do in Texas and what you do where you live over here, so we have to have cattle that are adaptable to deal with the different climates and the different feed sources if you want them to grow and make you money.

"You have lots of buffel grass out here as a feed source. Where I live we don't but to the south of me and right through south-western Texas all the way to New Mexico buffel grass is the staple of the food supply, so you see these cattle are very adaptable."