ASA National Sire Summary ~ 1973

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In the foreword of the ASA's 1973 National Sire Summary, Don Vaniman, executive secretary of the ASA, wrote, in part:

... The American Simmental Association was the first to recognize the need to improve the economic traits of cattle by informing its members of the genetic differences of its registered sires. The National Simmental Sire Summary is still the first publication of its kind ever printed by an American breed society. The others are contemplating its benefits – but the Simmental breed has actually accomplished it.

This Sire Summary will completely change methods of breeding, selecting, exhibiting and selling of Simmental cattle. It will keep the honest cowman in business and eliminate the exploiter who would promote valueless bulls by hard sell advertising and sharp management practices but which would not stand up genetically in the Simmental performance testing procedures.

This Summary will not only benefit those purebred breeders who wish to become “master breeders,” instead of just “multipliers,” but will also immeasurably benefit the commercial cattleman who has to make a living by raising profitable cattle. …

This Summary is an improvement over last year and subsequent summaries will be even more meaningful. This represents only the second year of the National Simmental Sire Summary …

Page 9 of the 116-page Summary set forth the ASA rules and percentage chart as pictured below:

The National Simmental Sale ~ 1972

The inside cover of “the National Simmental Sale at Fort Worth, Texas/February 5/1972” brochure gives some idea of the interest and growth of Simmental in just a few incredibly busy years.

More Travels & Promotion

Travers continued his trips to Switzerland to research and select cattle as import permits were issued. Three of the trips that can be documented are:

 June / July 1970 – France, Switzerland, and Germany. (Post Card: June 26/70, & Passport: July 1, 1970)
 June / July 1972 –Switzerland, Germany, and England with Hans Ulrich. (MSA Newsletter: June 27, 1972)
 April / May 1973 – France and Switzerland on cattle business (accompanied by three of his children).

Travers’ greater contribution, however, was as he travelled from town to town and farm to farm in both Canada and the U.S. promoting the remarkable Simmental. He also attended many events at which he often spoke. He was a regular attendee at the annual meetings of both the American and Canadian Simmental Associations, ranging from Denver to Fort Worth to Regina Saskatchewan and beyond.

The Simmental Scene, March 1974 gives some idea of the passion Travers had for Simmental.

… After the arrival of Parisien in 1967, Travers devoted endless hours, days and weeks to the promotion and development of Simmental throughout North America. It was because of his tireless efforts that the nickname Travelling Travers was tacked on this forceful, dynamic man. Wherever Travers could find someone who would listen, he expounded on the value of Simmental. He presented talks all over the continent; around kitchen tables with pictures projected on the wall to mass meetings with several hundred in attendance. Travers was instrumental in the formation of the Canadian Simmental Association and was one of the men whose signature appears on the application for incorporation under the Canada Pedigree Act. Travers served as First Vice President on the first [interim] Board of Directors and on August 2nd, 1969 was elected President of the Canadian Simmental Association. He served as a director for three years. (p. 13)



SBL ad from Simmental Shield magazine, October 1971



Association Directors ~ 1971

In the Simmental Shield magazine, October 1971, p. 4, the officers and trustees of the Simmental associations were listed as:

cover of meeting agenda

Simmental Associations ~ ASA 1968; CSA 1969

Canadian Simmental Association (CSA): In the Guest Editorial of Simmental Country, August 1987, Wes Alm wrote:

During the late 1960’s and the formation of the Canadian Simmental Association there were many tireless workers—people with great vision of the future and they were dedicated to the cause of Simmental promotion. / Two individuals that stood tall in the saddle come readily to mind, Dr. Allan Dixon and Travers Smith, men with great fortitude. Their overwhelming enthusiasm for Simmental was contagious and their contribution to the establishment of Simmental in North America was beyond measure in the respective short years they had. (p. 50)

The CSA was founded in 1968. The application for incorporation under the Livestock Pedigree Act was made and subsequently approved on February 29, 1969. The first organizational meeting was held in Calgary on August 1, 1969 following several meetings around the country where the constitution was gradually developed. Fenton Webster recalled:

After some show in the U.S. [1968, Sheridan WY], Ray Woodward, Dale Lynch, Lavon Sumption, Travers and I stayed up all one night putting by-laws together. Travers was determined to do things right and he wanted everything based on performance. Originally, we had an idea to require bulls to index 105 to be recorded, but that, like many other ideas, got watered down. / Lavon and I did all the organizing of that first meeting in Calgary [Aug. 1, 1969]. … Travers was elected the first President and I stayed on as Secretary until we could afford a full time person. (Beef Today Yearbook’77:86)

Traver's hometown newspaper, Cardston Unlimited, of August 27, 1969 (p. 1) reported the founding board of directors as:

    Fenton Webster of Mt. View, Travers Smith of Cardston, Ross Mitchell of Manitoba, Dr. Allen Dixon of Calgary, Lee Rollins of Edmonton, Ted Tremunde of B.C., Hans Ulrich of Claresholm, LeRoy Berry of Sask., and George McLean of Toronto. Dr. Lavon Sumption was elected as honorary President. This group appointed Travers Smith as president and Fenton Webster as Sec. Treas. of the new organization. The office will be in Cardston at the present time. ...
     A delegation from Switzerland was present for the founding of the Canadian Simmental Association. Included were: Dr. Nabholz, Veterinary General of Switzerland, Mr. Herner Hyss, the manager of the Swiss Cattle Breeders Federation (the organization that exports Swiss cattle from Switzerland to many part of the world); Dr. Hans Henger, the president of the Simmental Cattle Association who has also directed the production of a number of films on Swiss Cattle as well as writing several books on them, and Mrs. Hon Henger.
    The meeting also drew in people from points all across Canada and the United States.
    Speaker at the meeting was Dr. Henger who presented Travers Smth with an honorary medal for his efforts in opening the way for bringing the Simmental Breed of Cattle into Canada.
    An evening banquet was attended by 200 people who were served a delicious supper featuring cross-bred Simmental beef.
    The guest speaker for the evening was the Veterinary General of Canada Dr. Kenneth Wells.
    Mr. Wyss presented a lovely hand carved Simmental cow to the associatiion for their office. Dr. Nabholz also spoke expressing appreciation from the group for this opportunity of coming to Canada. ...

From its very beginning, the CSA set out specific rules for cattlemen in an upgrading program through crossbreeding and AI. These rules incorporated many of Travers’ beliefs and credos, including: performance testing, record keeping, and indexing; and his objection to “competitive live shows.”

In a fact-sheet that SBL prepared in response to the myriad inquires it was receiving, the CSA-proposed rules were outlined in brief with the last two stated as follows:

12. Simmental cattle will not be entered in any competitive live shows because the judging criteria of live shows are inconsistent with sound performance selection programs.
13. Simmental may be displayed at exhibitions and fairs for purposes of sales promotion. Performance data will be emphasized.

This objection to competitive shows ran deep with Travers. He felt that show judging had done almost irreparable injury to the British breeds and that Simmental would suffer the same fate if the focus became show judging instead of performance.

Concerning Travers’ long standing objection to show judging, B.Y. Williams wrote:

I was manager of a credit union and also in the cattle business in a small way. We often discussed the adversities of the business, the virtues of the native breeds—and lack of them—and how to make a living out of a beautiful, big, fat “ideal” Hereford cow that turned in a scrawny 350-pound calf at weaning time. Well, Travers’ contention was that the “egg heads” were all wrong. Travers’ contention was that judging cattle by type instead of performance was our ruination. (Simmental Shield:March1974:30)

Current Canadian Simmental Association website is at http://www.simmental.com/
For a historical list of the CSA board of directors see: http://www.simmgene.com/pdf/register/40years_208.pdf

American Simmental Association (ASA): In part, because of greater interest in Simmental in the U.S., the American Simmental Association had been organized in October 1968. In the Farm Quarterly—Spring 1969, Charles R. Koch reported in his “Livestock” column that:

Probably never before in the history of breed associations has there been such an enthusiastic launching of such an organization. The enthusiasm is even more impressive in view of the fact most of the charter members of the association have never seen a purebred Simmental of either sex; that the only representatives of the breed now in this country are F1 calves sired by artificial insemination; … / Nevertheless, some 260 cattlemen from Florida to the State of Washington converged upon the Cosmopolitan Hotel, in Denver, early in January to attend the first annual meeting of this association and a high percentage of them left the meeting as dues-paying charter members at $100.00 per crack.

The Western Livestock Journal of January 1969 reported on the first annual meeting of the American Simmental Association as follows:

Cattlemen jam Simmental meeting
DENVER – The American Simmental Assn. had 34 members up to the coffee-break time at the first annual meeting here, Jan 10.
Approximately 50 people were expected to show up at that meeting but 250 jammed the room, representing almost every major beef breeding state and Canada. … At coffee-break time 84 cattlemen joined the association and before nightfall the membership had increased further, according to Dale Lynch, Cary, Ill., association secretary. …

Current American Simmental Association website is at http://simmental.org/site/
See also Forty Years and Counting at http://www.simmgene.com/pdf/register/40years_208.pdf


bbb year was probably 1970