THE BATTLEFORDS, Sask. – They stand a little shorter than the better known cattle breeds and are distinguished by a smattering of black and white on their hides.
The Speckle Park, now a recognized breed in the cattle world, began life in the 1960s as a union between Black Angus owned by Maidstone, Sask., farmers Bill and Eileen Lamont and spotted cows that Greenstreet, Sask., producer Mary Lindsay calls her “linebacks.”
Eileen’s sister Christine Pike, who raises Speckle Park cattle at Waseca, Sask., said those lineback cows can be traced back through several breeds, including Highlands. Lindsay, whose photo hangs in the Lloydminster and District Agricultural Hall of Fame, was among the first to import Highland cattle from her native Scotland, said Pike.
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In an interview at producer Greg Melchior’s farm at the Battlefords, he and Pike described their Speckle Parks as long backed, short legged animals, deep and strong over the loin.
Melchior said they are docile, easily trained and managed, with few problems at calving.
The distinctive looking animals take up less room in the stock trailer and are also economical on feed rations, added Pike.
“They are very thrifty animals. If you try to overfeed them, you’d ruin them,” she said.
Cow-calf producer and feedlot operator Greg Holtby bred his 50 heifers to Speckle Park bulls last year and is pleased with the results.
“They work pretty well and finish nicely in our feedlot,” said Holtby of Marshall, Sask.
He was drawn to them while seeking to develop local markets for beef.
“We look at it the same way as growing a different crop. We like to experiment.”
He was impressed by their strong results at steak competitions and in feeding tests at Olds College and by how well they grade.
Holtby expects the popularity of the breed will grow, albeit slowly. He said it’s a tough sell to convince buyers of the merits of the different looking cow and it’s a risk for producers.
“You don’t get paid for having anything too different than the normal and quite often you get docked,” he said.
Robert Lundquist, a butcher at Diamond 7 Meats in Lloydminster, said Speckle Parks have good carcasses and high meat quality.
“We sell high quality tender meat and Speckle Park meets that criteria as consistently as any breed we buy from,” he said.
Lundquist said the animals are a moderate size and easy to finish, but consistently yield up to 65 percent meat off the bone.
He reports a spike in the numbers of this breed coming through his facility.
Websites on Speckle Park report that early buzz grew about the cattle following their strong showing at the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto in 1973 and numerous news articles.
In 1985, Speckle Park breeders representing nine different herds met to form the Speckle Park Breeders Association, now called the Canadian Speckle Park Association.
It was a giant step forward in 1993, when Agriculture Canada granted approval for the incorporation of Speckle Park cattle as an evolving breed.
In 2006 it became a recognized breed, making it the first beef breed developed in Saskatchewan and one of the few in Canada to be recognized as a distinct breed of cattle.
At the Speckle Park sale at Canadian Western Agribition in Regina on Nov. 20-15, the breed sold 13 lots for an average price of $2,350.
River Hill Farm of Neilburg, Sask., owned by Barry and Elaine Ducherer, won the grand and reserve champion female classes. The grand champion bull was from Notta Ranch of Neilburg, owned by Jason Goodfellow.
The reserve bull was entered by Merl, June and Meagan Zweifel who own the ranch named Moovin Zpot at Frenchman Butte, Sask.
The Canadian Speckle Park cow weighs 1,200 to 1,400 pounds. The udder is well set and tight and due to the dark pigmentation, udders are rarely sunburned.
Bulls average 2,000 to 2,200 lb.
The Lamonts, breeders of Appaloosa horses and Angus cattle, thought the cattle would go well with their herds.
Their goal was to breed and develop a middle of the road, medium sized, polled beef animal.
They chose the name Speckle Park because their markings are similar to Park cattle and the evolving breed was raised in Saskatchewan’s parklands.
Some are white with black points, some leopard spotted and some black sided with speckled hips, white top and underline and roan faces.
