The Speckle Park beef cattle breed is one of the fastest growing in the world, producing high dressing percentages in first-cross cattle with great meat-eating quality.
First developed in Canada in the 1940s, they are usually polled, of British-bred origin from Angus-Shorthorn and White Park breeds, and moderate in frame size with strongly repeatable coat colours and patterns.
Speckle Parks are moderate sized and mature cows weigh between 600-850kg and mature bulls over 1000kg. The calves average 30-40kg at birth and wean at around 230kg to over 370kg.
In the 1960s the Lamont family of Saskatchewan bred their “speckled” cows to Angus bulls and the offspring came in a variety of colour patterns, some white with black points, some leopard coloured and some black sided with speckled hips, white top and underline and roan faces.
Over time the Lamont’s selective breeding created high-quality carcase cattle with low to moderate birth weights.
They named the progeny Speckle Park cattle.
Calves and weaners achieved premium prices through the saleyards and interest among farmers grew.
Other beef cattle breeders saw them come through the saleyards where they achieved a premium price.
Within a few years a dedicated group of breeders, mainly from Saskatchewan, were breeding Speckle Park cattle.
An association of breeders was incorporated in 1993 and the cattle breed was declared a distinct pure-bred in 2006 by the Canadian Minister of Agriculture, the first and only time this has happened.
Genetics have since been imported into NZ and Australia, where the breed has adapted extremely well. It is now the fastest growing cattle breed in Australasia.
In 2006 Bruce McKenzie from Maungahina, Masterton, and Raymond Matthews, Waiorongomai, Featherston, first viewed the Speckle Park cattle at the Canadian Agribition.
Speckle Park steers had won the Hoof and Hook competition in 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2006 and stood out beside all the other traditional and exotic breeds.
In 2007 Mark McKenzie from Maungahina went to the Canadian Agribiton where Speckle Park cattle took his eye.
Mark found them to be well structured, moderate framed and soft, easy keeping cattle.
In 2008 Maungahina and Waiorongomai formed a partnership, Speckle Park NZ (SPKNZ), with imported embryos and semen from Canada.
Lindsay Jones imported the embryos and formed his own stud, Mainstream Speckle Park, and supplied some of those embryos to the partnership formed between Maungahina and Waiorongomai.
Seventy pure-bred calves over the two years resulted in the best genetics selected from Canada.
Five years later there were enough cattle to be able to dissolve the partnership and split the numbers between Mark McKenzie at Maungahina and Charlie Matthews at Waiorongomai, which is also has the oldest Romney registered flock.
McKenzie and Matthews were foundation directors of Speckle Park International in 2010, the world breed organisation.
The role of NZ representation is now filled by Mark Tiller from Aniwania stud near Gore, and Robbie Clark, Parkvale stud, Culverden.
Dressing percentages in the first-cross cattle are in the mid to high 60s.
For many Speckle Park breeders, what they value most about the cattle is their quiet temperaments. A key to greater weight gains and a safer, low stress working environment is to work with docile cattle, and Speckle Park – managed properly – tick that box.
The calves reach puberty early and females cycle early and breed easily. The cows are also very maternal with good udders. The bulls sexually mature at about 12 months and make good yearling breeders.
Calving difficulties are low because the breed has slimmer front shoulders and when the calves hit the ground they are up and suckling very quickly.
Commercial farmers are increasingly finding Speckle bulls a wise choice for breeding heifers, due to the ease of calving and the increased quality of the carcase.
The breed has high marbling with a perfect fat covering, overlying consistently high-quality and tender meat.
Speckle Park express considerable hybrid vigour in a first cross, and they are widely known for high yields and softness of carcase.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was produced and published with the support of Specklebeef New Zealand.
