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Member News - September - October 2008   Click here to view a printer friendly version of the newsletter

Dear Members,

Welcome to the latest edition of “Member News”. During the period since the last newsletter a considerable amount of exciting developments have occurred. Please spend some time reading through the latest “Member News” and contact the Association should you have any questions or news that might be of interest. 

Development of the Simmental Australia - Quality Assurance ‘Gold Seal’
The Australian Simmental Breeders Association recognised the provision of pedigree and performance information that is of the highest standard which is essential to ensure recognition nationally and internationally.
 
The ‘Gold Seal’ program will provide the industry with a greater level of assurance that the information recorded is of the highest integrity while ensuring the transferability of registered animals or genetic material. This would provide greater recognition to Simmental stud producers acting in the best interests of their clients.

The Australian Simmental Breeders Association has demonstrated responsibility and commitment to the ‘Gold Seal’ Program, which provides a means of achieving excellence within the breed by a process of continuous quality improvement.

ASBA stud members, who become involved in the ‘Gold Seal’ Program, indicate they have agreed to the five key eligibility criteria identified as being of significant importance to guarantee a Simmental stud member meets client needs.

• Certified pedigree information
• Fully active and financial member
• Herd inventory is up-to-date and paid
• Active BREEDPLAN member 
• Guaranteed transfer of stud cattle

 
It is the intention of the Australian Simmental Breeders Association to ensure the transfer of stud cattle or genetic material is achieved efficiently and includes the provision of quality information. The ‘Gold Seal’ Program will provide the method for this to be achieved. Shortly members will be advised on how they can become part of this program and what is required of them to maintain a “Gold Seal” status.

2010 World Simmental Congress
2010 is fast approaching and the planning committee has been very active in organising the details to ensure that it is a great success. You may have noticed that the official website of the 2010 Australian World Simmental Congress has been launched and details outlining the events revolving around the congress have been included. More details are being added as they become available so please stay tuned and check out the website.
http://www.worldsimmentalcongress2010.com   

National Marketing and Media Approach
The Australian Simmental Breeders Association’s federal council is pleased to announce a nation wide approach to incorporate Association sponsored feature pages in Rural Press publications across all states.

Nominated set dates for Association sponsored features in each publication, which will proceed bull selling seasons, will be communicated giving members the opportunity to advertise on Simmental specific pages. The Association will commit a negotiated amount to assure editorial content and labelling of the pages. Editorial content along with the number of feature pages will increase with the involvement from individual stud advertisement.

The idea is to guarantee a minimum two page spread with member involvement in advertising to build on the number of pages and expand editorial content.

The Association intends to cover on the expenses involved in establishing the layout and Association advertisement. State branches will dictate editorial content on the initial double page spread with additional pages of editorial funded by member’s advertisements.  

Junior Membership maximum age limit
The maximum age of Junior Simmental Members has been adjusted from the current 25 to 21 years of age. All current junior members who are of the ages between 21 and 25 are eligible to remain Junior Members until 25 years of age. During the same time as this announcement, it was also advised that the Junior Membership fee will no longer apply for the first year of membership. A nominated fee of $10 will apply every year there after up until the age of 21. This is intended to increase the profile of junior involvement within the Association in the lead up to the 2010 World Congress and beyond.

Spring Inventory
There have been several enquiries regarding the structure of the Spring inventory and how it is calculated. Currently the Spring inventory is calculated based on all females born over the particular year that they approach puberty. The Association has recognised that the correct approach is to charge inventory on females born up until June 30 and animals born after this period would be charged inventory during the following years Spring inventory. This would mean that females that are not at the age to bear a calf during the year in question would avoid being charged inventory. Every year the Association receives several corrections to Spring inventories based on this issue. As of next year this problem will be resolved as the Spring inventory will be calculated in the same manner as the Autumn inventory.

Simmental Annual Magazine ~ 2008
We remind members that the Simmental Annual cut off for advertising is today. If you intend to book an advertisement space please contact The Land publication. Our commitment is to have it published and mailed out by early December so that it is available before Christmas. To achieve this, a strict booking deadline of October 27 must be adhered to. So please give this your urgent attention and contact Brett Tindal of The Land (Rural Press) to book your advertising. Ph: (02) 6921 5299 or email: brett.tindal@ruralpress.com

Development of an updated Membership List for 2008
It was identified by Federal Council that there was a great need for an updated Membership List to be developed and distributed. All members were notified of this and advised to review and update their details with the Association. The Association received a good response and has now been completed and in production. A copy of the 2008 Membership List will accompany this news letter for all members of the Association.

Life Memberships recognition
At the most recent AGM held in Melbourne, a motion was carried to recognise two people who have worked tirelessly for the Simmental breed in Australia with honorary Life Membership.

In Western Australia, Charles Cowcher was presented with an honorary life membership to the Australian Simmental Breeders Association. This is to be added to Charles’ World Simmental Fleckvieh Federation’s Golden Book Award which was presented to him at the 2007 ASBA AGM. This is only the third such life membership bestowed for outstanding contribution to the breed’s development.

As a foundation member of the Association, Charles had played a significant role in the breed’s development within WA and nationally. He represented the Association with distinction as a judge at many interstate shows and was always willing to provide advice to other members.

The award came as a surprise to Charles and it was enthusiastically endorsed by the WA members and state council present.

The second award is to be announced at a later stage. Members will be informed once this award has been presented.

State	No Sales	SALE	Top	Average	Sold	Clear	Gross
NSW	Jul-08	Barana Bull Sale	$13,000	$4,303	33	100%	$141,999
QLD	Jul-08	Ag-Grow, Emerald	$5,500	$3,040	25	71%	$76,000
NSW	Aug-08	Wombramurra - Black Simmental	$12,000	$4,449	39	100%	$173,511
QLD	Sep-08	Rockhampton BCM	$7,000	$3,300	40	70%	$132,000
QLD	Sep-08	AgShow Toowoomba	$10,000	$4,500	8	62%	$36,000
QLD	Sep-08	Select Simmental Sale - Roma	$11,000	$3,000	40	77%	$120,000
QLD	Sep-08	Roma Simmental & Simbrah Bull Sale	$8,500	$3,926	75	86%	$294,450
QLD	Sep-08	Gowrie Simmental & Simbrah Bull Sale	$8,500	$4,900	69	100%	$337,500

Please contact the Simmental Association should you have any recent sale results

Upcoming Events

Nov 10

Victorian Simmental Spring Sale, Whittlesea, Victoria Whittlesea Showgrounds Selling Complex. Whittlesea, VIC All buyers will go into a draw to win a $1000 rebate on their purchase Contact Garry Gillett on Ph: 03 5282 3281 M: 0412 017 660 Click here further details.

Please contact the Simmental Association with your upcoming sales and events for 2008/2009 email damian.coffey@abri.une.edu.au

Recent Royal Shows Results
Brisbane Royal Show

Adelaide Royal Show

Melbourne Royal Show

Category	Animal	Breeder
Supreme Exhibit	Brenair Park Cougar	Brenair Park
Junior Female	Reagent Park AOO	Reagent Park
Res Junior Female	Brenair Park Hannah	Brenair Park
Senior Female	Gelora Park Tamara	Gelora Park
Res Senior Female	Brewers Heidi	Reagent Park
Grand Champion Female	Reagent Park AOO	Reagent Park
Junior Bull	Brenair Park Cougar	Brenair Park
Senior Bull	Brenair Park Bruno	Brenair Park
Res Junior Bull	Pinaroo Hills Shaun	Pinnaroo Hills
Res Senior Bull	Corinda Downs Bosley	Corinda Downs
Grand Champion Bull	Brenair Park Cougar	Brenair Park
Most Successful Exhibitor	.	Brenair Park

Perth Royal Show

Category	Animal	Breeder
Supreme exhibit and Grand Champion Bull	Seven Brooks Calibre	Seven Brooks Simmental stud
Senior Champion and Grand Champion Female	Bandeeka A Raspberry	Bandeeka Simmental stud
Junior Champion Female	Topweight Bettina 383	Topweight Simmental stud
Senior Champion Bull	Topweight Backgammon	Topweight Simmental stud
Junior Champion Bull	Seven Brooks Calibre	Seven Brooks Simmental stud
Res Junior Champion Bull	Bandeeka Poll Cossack	Bandeeka Simmental stud
Res Junior Champion Female	Bandeeka Remember C105	Bandeeka Simmental stud
Res Senior Champion Female	Topweight Bettina 270	Topweight Simmental stud

Technical Guidelines 
- Transfer of ownership
It is essential that animals and genetic material that have been sold or passed onto another breeder are transferred as soon as possible. It is the responsibility of the vendor to provide the Association Registrar with the transfer requirements and certificates within 60 days of the exchange. By exceeding this period, the registration of progeny from the animals in question could be jeopardized.

- DNA typing and further testing requirements  
With the existing agreement with The University of Queensland (UQ), samples for DNA and Parentage Verification testing sent via ASBA remain at the discounted rate of $24 plus GST per sample.

GeneSTAR Market testing (eg for Marbling, Tenderness and Feed Efficiency) will continue to be undertaken by Catapult Genetics under the existing contract with the Association.

Members are reminded that they are required to submit hair, semen on blotting paper or full straws of all untested sires or potential sires of calves born after November 2006. All Accredited AI Sires have data recorded as a prerequisite of registration. Please note that empty semen straws will no longer be accepted and the preferred method would be a drop of semen on blotting paper.

We recommend collecting hair or semen samples of all sires before the joining season commences. Store in plastic bag or collection kits, marked with the animal’s identification, in a dry place. Submit these to the Association, in either the UQ or Catapult collection bags (available from ASBA), for DNA testing once it is known which sires have calves to be registered. Then if the sire is sold or dies before his calves are due to be registered, his sample is stored and ready for testing. If there is no DNA recorded on a sire the calves will NOT be registered.

You can check the Simmental website’s animal search facility to see if an animal has its DNA type on file. If a sire has already been tested, there is no need to submit a sample for this sire.

- Check Imported Genetics    
Imported genetics can be very useful in introducing valuable traits to our Australian Simmental herd. However, care should be taken to check that the calves resulting from these importations can be registered with the Association. If in doubt, please check with ASBA‘s Registrar. It is a matter of checking to see if the particular sire is an Accredited AI sire registered with the Association.

DO NOT WAIT, SUBMIT YOUR CALF REGISTRATIONS TO THE ASSOCIATION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. CLICK HERE FOR A TIP SHEET ON HOW REGISTRATIONS CAN BE DONE VIA THE WEBSITE.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS

(1)   DNA fingerprint of ALL sires (except Accredited AI Sires) is required to register their progeny

Check the Simmental Website (Animal Search) to see if an animal’s DNA is on file.

(2)   Hair or Semen Samples Required

• When applying to transfer a bull to another stud or junior stud member, a hair or semen sample of the bull must be submitted to the Association

(3)   Check the AI Sire is Registered with ASBA

• Before using an AI sire, check that he is an Accredited AI sire with an ASBA registration number. This avoids problems in not being able to register resulting calves. Simply ring the office or check the Simmental Website before using such semen.

(4)    Please contact Claudia Scott if you require a copy of the Association Bylaws
simmental@abri.une.edu.au

(5)   Recording Birth Weight

• When recording calves on the S1 Form or in Herd Recording software, members are requested to record their Birth Weights.

However, if you do not actually weigh the calf within 48 hours of birth,
PLEASE DO NOT ENTER A BIRTH WEIGHT. PLEASE DO NOT GUESS IT.
If you have received this Newsletter in hard copy only and would like to receive it via email, please contact ASBA with your correct email address and we will update your contact details.

Best wishes,
 
Damian Coffey         
Executive Officer

 

 

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