The Speckle Park Elite Sale will be a unique opportunity to buy top quality genetics from the growing breed, according to sale co-ordinator Sam Nelson, Mulcahy Nelson Livestock, Tatura.
Twelve vendors will offer 14 females, nine bulls and five semen packages.
Really good genetics will be available; these are animals that wouldn’t normally be offered for sale.
- Sam Nelson, Tatura.
The sale will be held at 5pm on Saturday, September 30, at the Melbourne Showgrounds, after the Speckle Park feature show at the Royal Melbourne Show. It will also be interfaced with Elite Livestock Auctions, to allow real-time participation in the sale through the internet.
Mr Nelson said the animals to be offered for sale had to be eligible to be shown, and as such were from the heart of the studs’ herds.
“Really good genetics will be available; these are animals that wouldn’t normally be offered for sale.”
Mr Nelson came to know Speckle Parks through his son Jack, who has Jackungah Speckle Park stud.
“There are plenty of good qualities about them; their appearance initially, and then I’ve run some Speckle Park and some Speckle Park crosses and fed them on grain, and their conversion rate is tremendous,” he said.
“They’re putting the runs on the board.
"Their yield is very good. I prepared a couple of steers for St Mary’s (of the Angels Secondary College, Nathalia) and one yielded 63 per cent.”
Having Speckle Parks as the feature breed for the first time at the Royal Melbourne Show, and the elite sale is an exciting milestone to mark the breed being in Australia for 10 years.
Jason Keays, Fish Creek Farm, Fish Creek, said Speckle Parks were the feature breed at Royal Canberra Show this year, and would be at Adelaide next year. At Canberra, the 18 month-old Speckle Park bull, Six Star Premier, took out interbreed supreme exhibit of the show.
“But the best thing about Speckle Park is what’s underneath their coat,” Mr Keays said.
“Their carcase yield and meat quality is second to none,” the former grill chef said.
In the Beef Spectacular Feedback Trial, awarded in February, the reserve champion pen of five steers was awarded to the Minnamurra Pastoral Company, NSW, for their Angus/Speckle Park entry. Their other teams came in fifth, eighth and 12th in 2017, and they again won the Riverine premium title again. Minnamurra has been a strong performer since the team first entered in 2015, when their with four groups of Angus/Speckle Park cattle finishing third, eighth, ninth and 10th, along with first, second and third in carcase performance.
Mr Keays said Speckle Park’s performance in carcase competitions throughout the world has helped create buzz about the breed.
