Australian Simmentals - 50 years in the making

When we sat down with Brodhi Carracher he was really excited to catch up with some of the great friends and people he has met during his time over the past 8 or so years in the Simmental breed. 

Brodhi’s love of animals started at a young age, he had the opportunity to get some animals of his own at the age of 10 with some help from his grandparents and this love has followed him ever since. 

Brodhi mixes his time as a fulltime vet with his growing Simmental stud, where he has been identifying opportunities and travelling globally to get the best genetics to suit his operation.  Is a young gun cattle breeder and vet. He mixes his time between wroking out of Warnambool (?) in the vert practice and juggling his growing herd of Simmy’s on the side. He’s a switched on operator who has identified opportunities globally to support the gentic developmenmt of his herd.

Join host Oli Le Lievre as he explores 50 years of the Simmental Association in Australia. In 2022, The Australian Simmental Association is celebrating 50 years. In this podcast series we'll be chatting with some of the people who have shaped the breed from the very first calves, to some of the most well-recognised studs and industry leaders. Gaining an insight into the people behind the breed and understanding what are some of the opportunities for those in the industry today and the next generation.

Welcome to the first interview and I’m really excited that I’m sitting down with John Hopkins.. John’s father Henry is a founding member of the Australian Simmental Association and 50 years later John alongside his wife Nicole & daughters are still as passionate as ever about the breed.

In this chat, John shares more about his journey and some of his learnings and reflections in the industry so far. John shares more about his operation and their stud, Wormbete Simmentals.

John shares a little about:
- their approach to getting younger bulls sale ready earlier
- the importance of integrated pest management
- how they are regenerating their property 
- the pride and love that he has for Simmentals

This podcast has been produced and edited by Humans of Agriculture media.