Galant Semen

[aj]

Galant was THE bull to use in the 70's. Old number ten. Bob Dickenson used the heck out of him. He was a past president of the Simmental breed. Breeder of the year....bif.....and all that stuff.

 

[caledon101]

Pulling some of our old Simmental semen out of the tank and using it on our modern Simmental females is tempting; especially on homozygous horned and homozygous black cows however, it's easy to lose track of just how much the phenotype of the breed has shifted over the decades.

I raised this subject with a highly respected Simmental breeder on a visit to Indiana last fall and his response was interesting. He tried his own little " blast from the past" and he even used a sire that was considered very moderate by the standards used in the 80's. The resulting calves were awful apparently. Too extreme.

Looking back, if I had to choose one sire to sample on today's modern Simmental cows it would be the fullblood bull KMR Monarch 1D. A Bar 11 Ueli son out of a Swiss imported cow....Judiette.

Monarch was born in 1972 and he was great re: calving ease and disposition. He left good sons and daughters of moderate frame and excellent conformation and type. Tended to be mostly solid yellow and white faced of course. His progeny were very eye appealing but not enough frame score for the times/ show ring. Awesome skeletal correctness and udder quality. He could really change things up on just one cross.
In my opinion he was one of the greatest fullblood Simmental sires ever offered. It makes me wonder how many of equal value never had the opportunity to make the contribution they should have due to inadequate promotion etc.

 

[GONEWEST]

When I was a kid my dad had just commercial cows. Sometimes he'd buy bottle calves at the local dairies and there were always one or two Holsteins around to put two or three calves each on. Somehow I had an ABS sire catalog and back then our ABS rep carried semen around and bred your cows AI. I could look at that book all day. It had bulls in it like Cunia, Shaver Bysantin (who I thought was the ultimate beef bull) TPS Coronet Leader 21, Lodge and Linebacker of Wye, Shearbrook Shoshone and there was Ildeno and tons of Chi bulls and Romagnolas and Tarentaise and Gelbveighs and Blonde d'Aquitaines and even Hays Converters. But the breed that had the most sires in the book was Simmental and they fascinated me. There were all kinds of now famous sires in that lineup including Bar 11 Ueli. I talked dad into letting me breed one of those Holsteins to a Simmental bull and Ueli was one of the ones the ABS rep happened to have. I have a picture of that cow somewhere but we got what was basically a chocolate and white faced Holstein heifer. For here second calf we bred that heifer to a black white faced bull, one of the very first black Simmi bulls and I can't remember his name. But I know he was a son of Big and Tall who was a very fashionable Canadian sire at that time. That black and white spotted bull calf was the stoutest, growthiest calf we had ever had. It would be hard for a modern clubby bull to make a calf that stout out of a Holstein. I remember my dad saying he bet that calf weighed 650 lbs. So we borrowed the cattlemans association scales and weighed him at exactly 205 days. He weighed 958. We were hooked. A local college had fanagled ABS into letting them keep a bull named King Arthur. We bought a King Arthur son off test and the performance in our cattle skyrocketed.

When I graduated from highschool I took my college student loan and bought 3 head of bred cows from a very prominent breeder who was going to straight "fullblood" cattle. We bought what he said were his top 3 bred cows and began raising Simmental cattle.

These are just pasture pictures the cows looked better than these pics, lol. But the first one is a Galant daughter. Her first calf that we had was the Champion at the first State Open show ever. And we also had reserve Champion bull from another one of those cows and no one had ever even heard of us. The cow was my first ever prolapse and it was mechanical. Or in other words the calfs foot got caught in it on the way out and carried the uterus with it. She bred back in 5 months. She continued to breed until she was 14 or 15 and had to have an eye removed at one point because of cancer.

Third picture is an Achilles Daughter that was in those original three. She was ok with anyone but me unless she had a calf or if you had her in a tight place then she was really bad as was her daughter. But she absolutely hated me for some reason. She could spot me 200 yards away in the pasture and come for me at a trot. And she wasn't just intending to kill me she intended to eat me as well. One day I had about 10 people home from college for a cookout and the old cow had a sore foot and needed a shot. So we got her into the corral. My friends mostly city kids were perched on a gate kinda like a bunch of bull riders at a rodeo. They were being well entertained by me and a local friend who looked like rodeo clowns trying to get her in the chute. Finally they had made enough noise laughing to get her attention and she cleared the gate sitters with one charge into the gate. Then she ran over my other friend as he hit her between the eyes with a 2 x 4. Might as well have been a drinking straw. She just stomped and wallowed him into the ground before I got her attention and got her to chase me into the chute where he hopped up and put a pipe behind her to lock her in. Gave her a shot and turned her out. She walked out like nothing had happened, calm as a cucumber on THAT side of the chute. Then I took my buddy to the hospital along with two gate sitters who felt they were hurt as well. My buddy that got ran over had to have 6 stitches in his hand but other wise everyone was ok.

Next picture is an Abricot cow. She was the daughter of a famous imported cow owned by Georges Creek Ranch in Texas named Adrahan Fenalla. When she was 16 she quit breeding and we took her to the sale barn she weighed 2390. Last picture is her great grand daughter I have now. Fun to remember the old stuff.

 

[Mark H]

I also used Bar 11 Ueli and King Author.  Both were good, solid bulls that produced many high performing progeny particularly out of angus and hereford cows.  King Author stands out in my mind because he was from Britian and didn't have the classic white faced simmental pattern.
I also remember getting good calves out of a swiss bull called Verdi.  His calves were similar to Renz calves.
Anyone use the calving ease bulls Caufi and Beat?

 

[justintime]

I used some Beat back then, but I did not find him to be much easier calving than many other bulls. A neighbor of ours, imported a Swiss bull named Super Sieger, and he was a very easy calving bull. He was not promoted much but he turned out being a bull who had a bad temperament as he got older. King Arthur was a very good bull... very thick and a bit easier fleshing than some others back then.

KMR Monarch was also raised here in Southern Saskatchewan, and he was definitely one of the best in that time. He was raised by the Patterson family that ranched and he did an excellent job for them. He calved easily and he sired calves with excellent soundness and pattern.

 

[Till-Hill]

Used a unit of Payback last night and was just looking him up to record any info and I see it lists Galant as his MGS same bull being talked about here?

And very interesting thread as we breed Simmental cattle and FB ones always caught my eye.

 

[caledon101]

I would almost be certain it's the original Galant # 11 sire that is the MGS. 
Gone West......great pictures and story!  Really brings back some memories. I should dig through some of the old show pics I have and post them.
I owned a Beat daughter or two and didn't find anything remarkable about them; moderate framed and productive as I recall.

The whole story around why, how and when the importation of the continental breeds is very interesting. Dr. Kenneth Wells, the Veterinary Director General who was responsible for the European importation process made a huge contribution to the North American beef industry. There was a huge demand here for access to these breeds and thanks to Dr. Wells it was made possible. The foot and mouth outbreak in SK in 1952 was his responsibility to clean up and within the 12 months the restrictions and quarantines were lifted. A huge accomplishment.
Obviously, both the Canadian and US governments couldn't allow another outbreak of this extremely contagious and debilitating disease.
From what I recall, they narrowed it down and attributed the outbreak to a German immigrant farm worker in SK who fed some sausage he brought from his home country to some pigs.

To me, it's kind of unfortunate that the young Simmental breeders today don't know the import story. Only the old, long time breeders recognize or recall those original import sires and how it transformed the North American industry.

 

[oakview]

I still have my copies of the old AI company catalogs and  enjoy looking through them from time to time.  I am amazed at how many Simmental bulls were in the old ABS magazines.  With so many options, I often wonder why certain breeds hit and others didn't.  I always thought that the Simmental breed offered Hereford die hards the opportunity to increase their growth, frame, etc., without drastically changing color.  We used to feed a lot of western origin cattle, and nearly all of them were Hereford.  Simmental bulls without spots seemed to be very popular out west and maybe some of them even found their way into the purebred Hereford population?  Surely not.  I'm sure there were other factors, such as the money people involved, that determined how popular the continental breeds became.  I remember Johnny Carson got involved with Maines, at least in name.  I've got a magazine somewhere with a sale report about two Maine fullblood bulls he was somehow involved with, Here's Johnny and JC'S Ferdinand were their names, I think. 

 

[Pleasant Grove Farms]

Anyone use Alpine Polled Proto?
he was maybe not a true "original" but he was a great female maker; they were moderate,
milked very heavily....

our herd started with Sultan and Paresian.
believe Sultan was ASA 4 and Paresian ASA 1.

my dad was one of the first in the state to raise Simmis.

 

[caledon101]

It is interesting to speak with the people who were personally involved in the importation or, who were very close to the process.
What I heard more than once was that it seemed the breeds that arrived first enjoyed the most popularity....Charolais and Simmental being the two most prominent I believe.

And, I recall the logic applied with respect to popularity and, it seemed to be consistently correct. The breeds that enjoyed strong support or dominated in their country of origin arrived with a strong chance of accomplishing the same in North America. While the breeds that were lower on the totem pole in their country of origin had zero chance of dominating here.
I often wonder what the North American scene would look like today if Blondes, Maines, Pinzgauers and other fringe breeds had stepped off that first ship instead of Charolais and Simmental??

 

[oakview]

Anybody remember how long Charolais were here before the other continental breeds arroved?  In the old ABS catalog I have, all the Simmental, Maine, etc., bulls were imports, but there were several domestic Charolais.  The one I remember most was LCR Sam (can't remember the numbers following his name offhand), raised by Litton Charolais Ranch of Missouri.  That ranch is another history lesson in itself.  I also remember Charolais cross cattle being shown at our county fair long before the other breeds hit.  Our neighbor showed a Char X Angus heifer and it was certainly an oddity at the time. 

 

[oakview]

I know about the Charolais coming into this continent, I guess I was most interested in a comparison of how and when the Charolais made an impact in different areas and how long it was after that before the other Continental breeds made an impression.  It seems as though we had Char cross cattle at least 5 or 6 years before I began to notice the other crosses. 

 

[GONEWEST]

Sam 951! I haves some pictures of him and what a gorgeous bull that was! I believe that Litton was also a congressman and was killed in a plane crash. They had the most beautiful facilities back then. White barns with green roofs and white fences.

As to what the cattle herd would look like if other breeds had gained a foot hold instead of Charolais and Simmis............I believe they would have faded away and in the deep south you'd have Brahman crosses and the rest of the country would be Herefords and Angus. The Charolais had the growth that was needed in North American cattle and the Simmental's were then able to combine that same growth or a little better when the Charolais had to be a little easier calving, plus the milk that was needed in the cowherd. I know its hard to believe but Simmentals USED to milk. That was back before the rocket surgeon extension people decided that milk was a bad thing for everyone, not just the high desert ranchers.

But one thing that was important is the genius cattlemen that laid the foundation for the breed. Performance records were required for registration. Simmental was the only breed to decrease birth weights while increasing weaning weight for years and years. They kept their nose out of the show ring. Didn't officially recognize it. If today's brain trust, and I use that word loosely, had been in charge back then the Simmental breed would have never gotten off the ground in the US.

 

[caledon101]

Good point Oakview.
Charolais live cattle were introduced into the USA without authorization or government consent back in the 50's. They actually came up via Mexico. My understanding is that an entire herd(s) crossed the border and eventually were moved back into Mexico.
Governments are usually glacial in speed as we all know UNLESS it suits their own purpose.
The real reason European cattle were finally allowed legal entry into North America back in the late 60's via quarantine on Grosse Isle is because both the Canadian and American federal governments knew they had to take control of the situation. The demand and pressure in North America for these European breeds was enormous. Allowing them to trickle in without strict health controls was simply not an option. The disease consequences were just too great a risk. Our cattle in North America have been insulated against exposure to foot and mouth and other diseases and have zero resistance. It's not unlike when the white man from Europe first arrived and decimated the indigenous people with smallpox etc.
During the winter quarantine period on Grosse Isle unvaccinated domestic cattle were penned with the quarantine group as another way to ensure no diseases were being introduced.
There was huge burden on Dr Wells and the minister of agriculture back then to do this right and not inadvertently ruin the industry here.

 

[caledon101]

I do believe the breeds that arrived first enjoyed an advantage with respect to gaining popularity and attracting investors. However, I firmly also believe that it was the tremendous cattlemen behind the Simmental and Charolais breeds back then that ensured future success for those breeds. I bet if those guys focused on some other breed they would have still found some level of success.
Wilf Davis, the Draper boys, Bob Gordon, Rodney James just to name a few. There were many others.
I recall sitting at the dinner table in Brandon MB with a Swiss breeder the night before the 20th anniversary Bar 5 Bull Sale. I asked him if he had gone out to Douglas and toured the 800 cow fullblood herd yet and he responded that he spent all day viewing them.
He said he was blown away by how Bar 5 had improved the genetics they imported in only 20 years. He was amazed.
It really was, and still is, the great cattlemen behind these import breeds.
For Simmental it started with Travers Smith in 1967 and his import bull Parisien. His promotion and hard work was relentless. 

 

[caledon101]

Found online.....

Introduction to the United States

Soon after the First World War, a young Mexican industrialist of French name and ancestry, Jean Pugibet, brought some of the French cattle to his ranch in Mexico. He had seen the Charolais cattle during World War I while serving as a French army volunteer and was impressed by their appearance and productivity. He arranged for a shipment of two bulls and 10 heifers to Mexico in 1930. Two later shipments in 1931 and 1937 increased the total number to 37 - eight bulls and 29 females. Not long after the last shipment, Pugibet died and no further imports were attempted.

The first Charolais to come into the United States from Mexico are believed to be two bulls, Neptune and Ortolan, which were purchased from Pugibet by the King Ranch in Texas and imported in June 1936. Later imports of bulls were owned by some of the early "pioneers" in the industry: Harl Thomas, Fred W. Turner, C.M. "Pete" Frost, M.G. Michaelis Sr., and I.G. "Cap" Yates, all of Texas, J.A. "Palley" Lawton of Louisiana, and others.

In the mid-1940s an outbreak of Hoof and Mouth Disease occurred in Mexico. As a result, a treaty between the United States, Canada and Mexico set up a permanent quarantine against cattle coming into any of these countries from Europe or any country in which Hoof and Mouth Disease was known to exist. This barred any further importation of French Charolais on this continent until 1965 when Canada opened the import doors via rigid quarantine both in France and in Canada.

Development in the United States

Until the mid-1960s, all the Charolais in Mexico, the United States and Canada were descendants of this initial Pugibet herd. Due to the limited number of original animals and the import restrictions which were in place, they have been crossed on other cattle in an upgrading process. Because of the use of the upgrading process few of the Charolais cattle currently found in the United State are of pure French breeding. With the lightening of the import restrictions in Canada in the mid-1960's fullblood Charolais were again imported from France. This allowed for the importation of new bloodlines from France. This meant new genetic material for tightly-bred Charolais pedigrees of the time. Several breeding herds were estabilished in Canada, as well as the island of Eleuthera, in the Bahamas. Japan, England and Ireland also imported purebred Charolais directly from France. Offspring from these herds were later imported to the United States.

 

[RyanChandler]

Charolais have been in Texas since the early 30s or earlier.  There are many ranches that are on the border line whereas half the ranch is in Texas and half in Mexico.  Same w/ New Mexico. I have some pictures of my grandpa and his brothers standing around a coral where they had just unloaded a truck of Fullblood bulls they had brought across in the early 50s.  He tells me his dad and other ranchers had been bringing fullbloods across the border more than a decade earlier. They knew the superiority of these cattle and, being the progressive cattlemen they were, there was no way an imaginary line was going to stop their access.  When French imports started coming in by the droves legally, the trucking of Mexican Char bulls across the border picked up even more.  He says the Mexican bulls they could buy for a grand were still substantially better than the very expensive French imports that were coming out of quarantine in Canada. Because the Mexican fullbloods obviously weren't papered, many of them took the identify, on paper that is, as sons of the French bulls that were being imported.

 

[RyanChandler]

That's hilarious how that source tries to formalize the process and present it as if it were all documented. 

He "arranged" a shipment  (lol) 

The people movin the Char cattle into the US weren't publicizing this stuff-- At least from my grandpas personal accounts, it was MUCH more prevalent that that article suggests. 

 

[caledon101]

Okay.....just so I get this right......all those full French imported bulls they unloaded in Quebec when the ice broke up on the St Lawrence river and the quarantine was over.....the ones that went to the A.I. Collection facilities and were blood typed/parentage verified.....they somehow had their genetic identities stolen by the much better Mexican percentage ones?....a massive semen fraud occurred??
Just want to understand this correctly....it was your grandfather and his brothers who are the true founding fathers of the Charolais breed in North America??

 

[oakview]

Interesting to see the names, Draper and Gordon for example, associated with the Simmental base.  Both were prominent Canadian Shorthorn breeders.  You might remember Bob Gordon as the owner of TPS Coronet Leader 21st.  The Drapers had a son of him, Kinnaber Leader 5th maybe, that was used quite successfully.  The Thomas, Gordon, Draper Shorthorn sale was held for several years.  Many Canadian Shorthorn breeders had a hand in the growth of Simmentals.  Back in the day, most of the prominent Simmental breeders I talked to told me the best cow they had on the place traced back to an old Shorthorn cow.  Just like my neighbors used to tell me that the best cows they had were the ones that resulted from a Shorthorn bull getting in with their Angus cows.  There was a reason they were known as "the great improvers."