History

A short history of the Speckle Park breed

Speckle Park is a breed of cattle native to the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is one of the newest cattle breeds, having been officially recognised by the Canadian government in 2006.

Work on breeding the Canadian Speckle Park began in the 1950s, with the crossing of a roan Shorthorn heifer to a Black Angus bull.

Descended solely from British beef breeds, the breed is naturally polled and inherits many of the characteristics of popular cattle like the Angus. The spotting became a dominant trait in the offspring, and the beginnings of a new breed emerged.

Speckle Park is so named because of the colour pattern of the cattle. Speckled refers to the spots on the rear quarters and across the body, and park refers to the colour around the ears, eyes, muzzle, lower legs and teats. Except for the solid colour pattern, Canadian Speckle Park have white lines on their backs and underbellies.

Speckle Park cattle are considered one of the best on the Australian market today.