John’s passion for cattle produces only the best

FOUNDER and operator of Mt Ararat Simmentals John Leek is passionate about cattle, with a focus on high quality genetics, sourcing from the best studs Australia wide and overseas to ensure buyers receive top grade breeding animals.

Having established the business 14 years ago, John continues to breed for optimal outcomes on multiple fronts, with calving ease, docile cattle and high-quality meat production some of the benefits.
He is delighted to open his Nar Nar Goon property for people to inspect his bulls and breeding females during Beef Week, offering farmers the opportunity to buy animals that will help them achieve those positive outcomes.

“We’ll have a beautiful line up of polled bulls for sale, and also some select females with calves at foot and in calf again,” John said.
Select genetics are involved, with those female cattle in calf to $42,000 homo polled bull Woonallee Raffa.
“He’s one of the best calving ease bulls in Australia,” John said.

That is crucial to get maximum numbers of calves on the ground and minimise the need for human intervention during the birth process.
Mt Ararat Simmentals places high importance on breeding female cattle that have excellent conformation, not only maximising birthing success but minimising risks of subsequent infection in order to achieve good health and desired future fertility.

Good conformation is multifaceted, including having wide hips and a good tail set that enables the afterbirth to drain effectively after a calf is delivered.
Once offspring of John’s Simmentals are safely on the ground, they’ll continue to benefit from select genetics, with cows producing vast quantities of milk to rear their young.
That leads to calves weighing in the vicinity of 450 to 550 kilograms at the weaning stage.

“So you don’t have to put them out in the paddock and graze them,” John said, adding you can currently get $2,500 for them weaned. 
Mt Ararat Simmentals breeds cattle that will produce offspring to deliver excellent marbled meat that provides maximum flavour and tenderness.
“It’s a long chain of events before it gets to the butcher shop,” John said of the planned approach to delivering high quality meat.

He highlighted the importance of Simmentals’ docile nature, saying it minimises risk to those handling cattle on farm and in sale yards.
John also has a strong focus on breeding his cattle to prevent the risk of pink eye, explaining that Simmentals’ natural dark features around the eye area are advantageous.
He is proud that his Simmentals are at least the equal best in Australia, saying they stand out from the crowd in Victoria.

John said sales of Simmentals are booming, with many using the breed to improve their herds.
“What normally happens with Simmentals is that people buy the bulls and put them over their Angus and Herefords to upgrade them for high yield,” he said.

Although Nar Nar Goon based, Mt Ararat Simmentals has a presence in South Gippsland, with the Leeks running cattle on their Boorool property.

Those keen to inspect Mt Ararat Simmentals bulls and cows during the business’ Beef Week Field Day on Saturday January 28 are encouraged to arrive early at 126 Mt Ararat North Road, Nar Nar Goon.