Why Speckle Park?

• S1 Ep11: Andrew Hosken – A Livestock Agent's View of Speckle Park

  Andrew Hosken operates his agribusiness sales and consultancy, Hosken Stock & Land from Tamworth in northern NSW. He has had an extensive career as a livestock agent spanning 40 years, across eastern Australia. This included over 25 years at Elders, where he finished as the zone livestock manager covering northern NSW, Queensland, and the top end of the Northern Territory. One of Andrew’s major clients is Minnamurra Pastoral Company, the home of Minnamurra Speckle Park at Coolah in Central West NSW. When Minnamurra first went into Speckle Park – back in 2011 - Andrew was a typical sceptic. But then they won their first carcase feedback competition, then their second. “When it got to the 5th, 6th or 7th time that they won an award in just about everything that they had entered, I thought well OK, there is something inherently in these cattle,” he says. “And it’s gone on from there… There is something inherently good about the performance of Speckle Park.” “I think you will find the Speckles have a very strong place in the industry,” he says. “I don’t think there’s any feedlot or any abattoir we’ve sent (Speckle Park) stock to that haven’t wanted to buy them again… We’ve had a number of abattoirs and feedlots across all states put forward various comments about the consistency and the quality of the cattle that come in from Minnamurra.  Now, that to me says a fair bit. There’s definitely a place for the Speckle cattle. Andrew talks about consistency of Speckle Park cattle a lot in this episode. He says their carcase data is “consistently very, very good”, regardless of where the cattle have been processed, or breed composition in a cross with Speckle Park sires. As the breed increases in volume, so too will its broader awareness and appreciation by our commercial beef industry. If you enjoy this episode, please share it among your network, and leave a review. Thanks for listening! You can listen via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or Podbean.

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• S1 Ep10: Mark McKenzie - New Zealand's Speckle Park Pioneer, 17 Years On

  Mark McKenzie is a pioneer of the Speckle Park breed in New Zealand, teaming up with a colleague to import the breed into the land of the long white cloud, back in 2008. Adding Speckle Park to the long-running and well-respected Maungahina Stud prefix no doubt raised a few eyebrows among staunch Hereford breeders, with Maungahina having over a century of renown in the whiteface breed. But alas, Mark pushed forward with introducing Speckle Park to New Zealand, and he has worked hard in the years since to refine the breed to suit his conditions and industry demands. Mark is the fifth generation McKenzie at Maungahina, near Masterton at the bottom of the north island. He operates the property with his father, Bruce, wife, Melissa, and their daughter, Molly, has recently joined the family business as the sixth McKenzie at Maungahina! Mark has always taken a ruthless approach to culling, leaving him with a Speckle Park herd he is proud of. With the rise of the Speckle Beef meat brand in New Zealand, Mark sees a very bright future ahead for the breed – as long as the right animals are produced, with the right genetic merit. If you enjoy this episode, please share it among your network, and leave a review. Thanks for listening! You can listen via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or Podbean.

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• S1 Ep9: Dwight Wyatt - Why the Dairy Industry Appreciates Speckle Park

  Dwight Wyatt operates Wyatt Artificial Breeding Services and Meadow View Farms Speckle Park, together with his wife, Noela. They are based at Goolmangar, near Lismore in North East NSW. Dwight shares the same origin as the Speckle Park breed – he too originates from Canada, but has called Australia home since 1988. Dwight was just 13 or 14 years old when he did his week-long training in cattle artificial insemination, a course run by the University of Manitoba. By the time he was 17, he had his own area to service, and was regularly inseminating dairy cows. For about 35 years, Wyatt Artificial Breeding Services has serviced predominantly the dairy industry, and Dwight has seen many trends and industry changes during that time. One that is here to stay, he says, is Speckle Park. “We’ll probably be selling Speckle Park till the day we finish up because the dairy farmers love them,” he says. In this episode, Dwight shares his own experiences with Speckle Park, and those of his vast client base. If you enjoy this episode, please share it among your network, and leave a review. Thanks for listening! You can listen via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or Podbean.

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• S1 Ep8: Geoff Jones – The Butcher Shop Owner Whose Customers Crave Speckle Park Beef

  Geoff Jones and his wife, Toni-Ann, own three butcher shops at Grafton, in North East NSW, and nearby Wooli. They also market their meat products at the Yamba Farmers’ Markets. They have been selling Speckle Park beef for eight years, so are well-placed to share about its market acceptance, and just how much butchers enjoy working with Speckle Park.   Geoff’s family was among the first to introduce bos indicus cattle to the Grafton district, so he is used to operating outside of the status quo. Geoff was initially attracted to Speckle Park after reading about their flat-boning characteristics, and it is the consistent tenderness of Speckle Park beef that keeps his customers back for more!   If you enjoy this episode, please share it among your network, and leave a review. Thanks for listening! 

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• S1 Ep7: Dennis Power – Speckle Park Tick the Boxes for Commercial Relevance

  Dennis Power is General Manager of one of the largest Speckle Park stud and commercial herds in the world, Minnamurra Speckle Park. Based at Coolah in Central West NSW, Minnamurra Speckle Park has played a pivotal role in demonstrating the commercial relevance of the Speckle Park breed, winning various feedback trials and carcase competitions. Not once, or twice, but many times – dating back as far as 2013. The consistently outstanding performance of Minnamurra Speckle Park cattle in these competitions has gone a long way to proving that the Speckle Park breed is no fad, but is instead a breed with true commercial merit – and it is justifiably here to stay. If you enjoy this episode, please share it among your network, and leave a review. Thanks for listening!

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