2020 Speckle Park Journal "Breeding Book"

and red cattle since the beginning of the breed.
Due to the climate of some countries, they
prefer red cattle, so why not start to register
them and create another marketing tool?
By not registering them we may be missing
out on the next great bull that could take the
breed to the next level, just because he’s red.
The focus should be quality over colour.
We also feel that the genetic pool needs to be
widened. If it isn’t widened, our concern is that
all the time and effort dedicated to developing
Speckle Park could be all for nothing because
of the negative effects of inbreeding. One
way to achieve this is to open the registry to
the red Speckle Park. Another way would be
some form of opening the herdbook. We need
to continue to focus on the positives of the
breed. With the continued guidance and open
mindedness of a strong board of directors the
sky is the limit to what this breed can offer
many producers around the world.
WARATAH SPECKLE PARK
Laiton Turnham
GUYRA, NSW, AUSTRALIA
REPLY TO QUESTION ONE // At Waratah
Speckle Park, our farming operation has
always been focused on the commercial side
of Speckles; to make this breed even greater
than it is now, you need to make it more
popular with more beef producers! As the
number of Speckle Park cattle grows, so do
the opportunities for the purebred breeders,
through to the commercial guys, and then
to the processors who still can’t get enough
Speckle Park to supply to the consumer! Our
goal and our focus is to breed Speckle Park
cattle that out-perform our competitors and
taste great to the consumer.
REPLY TO QUESTION TWO // Most people
overestimate what can be achieved in one year,
but underestimate what can be achieved in ten
years. With that in mind, to see where Speckle
Park will be in ten years, we should look at
the past! In the past ten years in Australia,
Speckle Park have gone from a virtuallyunknown
breed to the fastest-growing beef
breed in the country. Of the 33 breed societies
in Australia, in 2019 the Speckle Park society
ranked in the top ten for registered members.
At Waratah, we started 11 years ago with 22
stud calves born, and in 2018 we had over 300
stud calves born. If we can achieve this in the
first ten years, imagine what can be achieved
in the next decade. The future is huge for the
Speckle Park breed.
WATSON LAND
& LIVESTOCK INC.
Peter Watson
BRANCHTON, ONT., CANADA
REPLY TO QUESTION ONE // For the next
decade we will continue to focus on breeding
females with good udders, ample milk, and
great feet and legs, that will be able to raise
calves trouble-free for many years. We also
plan to use the genetic testing to make more
informed breeding decisions.
REPLY TO QUESTION TWO // In the next
ten years, I think that the Speckle Park breed
will be sought after by feedlots for their feed
conversion, and by commercial cow/calf
operators for maternal females that can handle
any type of environment.