Breeder’s critical view of Simmentalers

In the Free State there is a Fleckvieh stud breeder who claims there is a marked difference between his breed and German Fleckvieh. According to him, no distinction is made in South Africa between the two breeds, and both are classed as Simmentalers. His animals are out of Swiss Simmentalers.

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JWA (Xantie) van der Merwe of the farm Drakenstein, near Bethlehem, says he is one of the few stud breeders in South Africa who farms with purebred Fleckvieh animals out of the Simmentaler.

Van der Merwe says the most important difference between the Simmentaler Fleckhvieh and the German Fleckvieh concerns the so-called 'pistol cut'. This is the part stretching from behind the hump along the back muscle - in other words, the eye-muscle to the hindquarters.

According to Van der Merwe, this 'pistolcut' part should form 60% of the carcass. He says the German Fleckvieh does not always conform to this requirement, while it is a definite feature in the Simmentaler Fleckvieh.

He explains that breeders of the German Fleckvieh in Fleckvieh in Germany and Austria apparently concentrate on a large chest in the breeding of their bulls.

As far as he is concerned this approach is wrong. He feels the economical cuts of a beef carcass come from the pistol-cut part and not the chest. The chest is used mainly for minced meat, and this is not where the money lies.