Peter Cook, Barana Simmentals, Coolah, with some of his Simmental bulls which will be on show at Northern Beef Week and at the upcoming Barana Simmental sale on the 3rd of July

By AMY LEWER from The Land newspaper on the 5th of June 2008

Coolah’s Peter Cook prides himself on producing cattle for the commercially minded breeder on his 941 hectare, Barana Simmental stud.

“I place a great importance on breeding for ease of calving, milk production and an aim to breed bulls that produce quick growing steers with good carcase characteristics,” Mr Cook said.

These finely tuned attributes have seen bulls sell nationally, for commercial and stud purposes, and in the 28 years of Barana stud establishment Mr Cook is now the largest Simmental breeder in the eastern States of Australia.

“I endeavour to purchase what I consider to be the best bulls available from Australia and overseas to suit my breeding program and to continue the type I have produced in the past,” he said.

Mr Cook put a great deal of emphasis on his client feedback which pushed him towards the introduction of a polled gene to his herd more than eight years ago.

“Since the infusion I have found the polled cattle perform equally with our horned, I now aim to breed a line of straight coloured cattle either red or blonde because they have become highly sought after,” he said.

The first purchased poll sire was Karewa Jester, a son of German sire, Eizenherz from the Karewa stud, New Zealand, starting a good line of offspring for the polling program.

German genetics were then utilized with a sire, Zimbo, who produced one of Barana stud’s most productive bull, Barana Zulu.

“He is equal to the best bulls in any breed with the added bonus of being polled; he throws outstanding calves which are represented at this year’s on-property bull sale.”

Generated interest in the black Simmentals convinced Mr Cook to venture into the market and inevitably meet demands from his client base once again.

“We purchased a dozen black females which have been implanted with embryos from Canada, I believe they will complement our existing herd and produce black cattle with similar characteristics of our traditional Simmentals.”

Mr Cook’s 200 registered breeders enables him to offer up to 60 bulls annually and this year he has even brought the sale forward a month to meet client demands for earlier joining.

“We don’t have the few extra weeks for preparation time but the bulls on offer will introduce cattle into a herd that will eat less, have the ability to finish with a higher yield and put more dollars in the pocket.”

At the eighth annual sale Barana Simmentals will offer 51 bulls, of these, 34 are polled, 2 scurred , 14 horned, 10 specially selected heifers  and three black Simmental bulls.

And just two weeks before the on- property sale, which topped at $18,000 last year, Barana Simmentals will open their doors to any enthusiasts as part of Northern Beef Week on June, 20.

Mr Cook said clients had come from Queensland to see the bulls before the sale.

“it’s a great opportunity to showcase them all so people can get an idea of what they are looking for and there’s no pressure and more time to discuss individual sire prospects for certain herds.”