This award recognizes individuals who have made exceptional and lasting contributions to the Speckle Park breed and the broader cattle industry. Barry and Elaine’s tireless dedication, innovative breeding practices and unwavering passion for Speckle Park cattle have left an indelible mark on the breed’s history and success.

Through their leadership and commitment, River Hill Farm has become a cornerstone of the Speckle Park community, earning respect and admiration from breeders across the country and beyond. Their efforts have not only advanced the quality and reputation of Speckle Park cattle but have also inspired a new generation of breeders to follow in their footsteps.

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The association has launched a branded tag program for visual recognition of Speckle Park cattle. Two Allflex tag styles are available in yellow, blue, pink and red. Orders require ownership of a registered Speckle Park bull, and tagged calves must have at least 50 per cent registered Speckle Park genetics. Order online at canadianspecklepark.ca.

The SPX Jackpot Show will debut at Canadian Western Agribition 2026, providing a new platform to showcase the value of Speckle Park-influenced cattle. The show is open to calendar-year commercial cattle sired by a registered Speckle Park bull or out of a registered Speckle Park female. All genetics must be purchased from a qualified breeder.

View the full list of participating breeders at the Canadian Speckle Park Association website or follow the CSPA SPX Jackpot Show Facebook page for updates. With significant prize money up for grabs, this event will highlight the breed’s growing influence in crossbreeding programs.

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It has taken eight years to build a new market, but following recent genetic sales to ranchers in Brazil, Dale Humphries of Wattle Grove Speckle Park in Oberon, New South Wales, is excited for the future of the breed.

“We were trying to develop an animal that’s got a slicker coat and more frame and leg to suit that Queensland cattle market… obviously the climate and weather (in Brazil) is fairly similar to (tropical) parts of Queensland.”

Together with Pedro Demartini, they have created Speckle Park Brasil as a way for Brazilian ranchers to purchase genetic material to build their own herds.

It’s been a slow process, but as of October 2024, Humphries said they have sent 800 purebred embryos and approximately 20,000 semen doses to Brazil from both Canada and Australia. Humphries said they have forward orders for a million semen straws per year, which will take between six to nine years to supply market demand.

“That’s a big process and a big job to even collect that many bulls and to produce that many semen straws out of Speckle Park.”

Anytime new markets are created, that’s a win-win for the global Speckle Park market, said Craig Brown of Maple Lane Stock Farm in Wetaskiwin, Alta., and vice president with the Canadian Speckle Park Association, especially with the small supply facing a big demand.

“It’s a positive anytime we can get into a new country and show off what we have.”

• RELATED: Mexicans invest in Canadian Speckle Park

The breed itself was developed in Saskatchewan and was first recognized as its own distinct breed on July 6, 2006. According to the Canadian Speckle Park Association, the herd is well known for “their high-quality carcass, efficient feed conversion and their meat quality,” but with a distinct blending of black and white hair, it’s their colouring that gets them noticed the most, said Brown.

“It’s hard not to notice, but it’s what’s under that skin that counts. That’s really the best part about that animal. We’ve won lots of carcass competitions, and so we’re known for it, but the general consumer, it’s amazing how many people have never heard of this animal.”

Besides their most notable traits, back in 2008 Humphries was also drawn to the hardiness and adaptability of the breed in what can be an extremely harsh Canadian climate.

Humphries knew early on that Speckle Park had a place in the Australian cattle industry, he said, and now it has been the fastest-growing breed in Australia over the last 15 years. He started his own herd with donors from Codiak Acres in Ardrossan, Alta., and River Hill Farm just outside of Lilydale, Sask.

To date, Humphries said he’s collected over 7,000 embryos and over 50,000 semen straws from Canadian Speckle Park cattle.

Canadian breeders probably thought he was “crazy at times,” he said, taking animals more likely destined for the cull pen and taking their genetics to Australia. Humphries was looking for traits that would help the animal do better in hot weather — things like a slick coat, less hair and a lot more leg and frame.

“We knew that cold and heat are two different things. They still show that toughness and survivability in Australia and Brazil. Even when it’s 45, 50 degrees, we’ll see Speckle Park out grazing the pastures when all the other animals are in a waterhole or in the shade.”

Brown is now seeing a lot of genetic material coming back after Australian buyers spent a while driving the Canadian Speckle Park genetic market, he said.

“The amount of money guys (Canadian breeders) were making that were in it early just by having the genetics was pretty astounding. The Australians definitely drove our market for a while, and now they’re looking for us to return the favour because they’ve developed some unique breeding as well.”

Since he was looking for more “undesirable” traits in Canadian herds, Humphries said it was a cheap market until people understood what he was doing. Now these Australian traits are more desirable for Brazilian ranchers.

There hasn’t been a new cattle breed in Brazil for 35 years, said Humphries. The last one was Angus, which is finally starting to make a bigger splash in genetic sales, but that took 30 years to do, he said. Having something new for breeders, Humphries said the Brazilian government was on board with subsidies and grants available to help with the administrative costs and support.

“It’s actually slowed us down a little bit, but it has been a good thing because of getting all the documentation and registrations of the animals and all that in place.”

The project has also led to a further partnership with Brazilian researchers. The University of Brazil will be collecting data on carcass merits and the genetic traits of Speckle Park in Brazil, which requires a huge number of animals on the ground, said Humphries.

“We then artificially inseminated a lot of Angus and Nelore cattle in Brazil with Speckle Park semen, mostly from Canada, but some from Australia. That progeny was born, and then all the data was being collected from those progeny all the way through.”

According to the Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), there were 234.4 million head of commercial cattle reported in Brazil in 2022, a number that has been on a steady increase since 2019. The Nelore breed has been the most popular breed for both milk and meat production, stated the report. While the data is still being collected with the first slaughter of Speckle Park crosses underway this fall, Humphries said the Nelore/Speckle Park crosses are showing better weight gain, better fertility and high artificial insemination success rates.

“We’ve just gotta wait now for the slaughter of those animals and then there’ll be lots of tests and studies done on the carcasses. Then we’ll move from there.”

Global management practices have also come under the microscope with this study, said Humphries. Compared to Canadian, American or Australian practices, Brazilian ranchers castrate their animals closer to 1,200 lb. before being grain fed. Whether this is a beneficial practice to the beef industry is something researchers will be looking to find out.

“We’re actually doing another trial in conjunction with that to just see the difference in weight gains and difference in castration of different ages as well,” said Humphries.

After nearly 20 trips to Canada looking for the right Speckle Park genetics for Australian weather, Humphries said that he now has more Canadian friends than Australians. Given his in-depth involvement in the industry, he has even more trips in the works. The Canadian Western Agribition is always on his social calendar, but he won’t be able to make it in 2024.

“Agribition was probably more of a social event than anything, but their international exchange program was great. And it did give you the opportunity to talk to guys from the U.K., Brazil or Argentina. It’s great for that.”

The global Speckle Park market is wide open, he said, and Canadian breeders should be seizing on that opportunity. Humphries has already looked at Argentinian appetites for Speckle Park genetics, but they don’t have the ability to add another market to their workload, he said. That just means more opportunities for Canadian breeders.

“There’s Speckle Park in Ireland and the U.K. All those genetics have all come from Saskatchewan.”

The United States and European markets are also looking for more genetic diversity and there’s a large market share out there, said Brown.

“It’s a positive anytime we can get into a new country and show off what we have.”

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Guests enjoyed five entrées featuring unique cuts of Speckle Park beef. The event received overwhelmingly positive reviews, with attendees praising the taste and tenderness of the beef. 

In other news, the Canadian Speckle Park Association has a new board of directors. President and co-chair of the show committee is Peter Watson. Craig Brown is vice-president and chair of the commercial and breed improvement committee. Harv Fehr is director and treasurer. Curtis McAleer is director and co-chair of the commercial and breed improvement committee. Carla Ducherer is director and co-chair of the show committee. Makenzie Olson is youth director. Vince Stevenson is member-at-large. 

The association also thanks retiring president Janice Harasymchuk, for her time, dedication and visionary leadership as president over the past few years. The association also thanks former member-at-large, Art Pruim, for his analytical genius, time and wisdom shared.

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A new award was created by the association this fall to support Speckle Park youth. The Youth of Excellence Award, along with $500, was awarded at Agribition to Emily Watson. All exhibitors at Canadian Western Agribition could vote for youth involved in the Speckle Park breed. Selection criteria include displaying a passion and advocacy for the breed, work ethic, breed involvement, communication skills, positive attitude, willingness to help, overall ideal representation of the Speckle Park breed, and a social media presence spreading a positive view of the Speckle Park breed. 

The association also presented the 2023 Commercial Cattlemen’s Award to Leigh and Anita McKain. The association thanks Leigh and Anita for their trust in and dedication to the Speckle Park breed! 

Following are a few highlights from Canadian Western Agribition/Canadian National Speckle Park Show: 

• Grand Champion Female (and First Lady Classic, Speckle Park Division Champion) was Colgan’s Kiss and Tell 27K, exhibited by Colgan’s Cattle Company Corp. 
• Grand Champion Bull and Top Ten CN Supreme Qualifier was Greenwood Coal Train 84J, exhibited by Greenwood Speckle Park and Ivery Downs. 
• Premier Breeder was KFC Farms Ltd. Premier Exhibitor was INC Cattle Co. President’s Classic, Speckle Park Division Champion Bull Calf was GW/ID Loyalty 30L, exhibited by Greenwood Speckle Park and Ivery Downs. 
• BMO Canadian Junior Beef Extreme, Speckle Park Division Champion Female was Wolf Lake Aspen 37L, exhibited by Melody Brundige.

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When he started attending, it was to look at the Herefords, the breed he raised on his operation at the time. However, they switched to Speckle Park, and now come to find genetics at Agribition.

Ebbeck ranches in New South Wales on his operation called Six Star Speckle Park, where they run between 40 and 60 purebred Speckle Park, and have a large embryo transfer program, as well. 

Their ranch is located an hour and a half away from Sydney, the capital of the country, and in the Southern Highlands, where Ebbeck says it’s colder than most of the country.

“It’s a temperate climate,” he says. “It’s certainly a lot cooler, a lot more moisture than most parts of Australia, so we’re lucky with that.”

Ebbeck says he doesn’t always come to buy genetics at Agribition, but to scope out producers and operations he’d like to reach out to in the future.

“It’s not so much that we source all of our genetics out of Agribition, but we get a broader view… within the breed, we can see different types of cattle people are breeding,” Ebbeck says.

He says they then follow up with that producer to discuss opportunities.

“It’s the best of the best in all breeds,” Ebbeck says about Agribition.

He says they spend the week walking through all the barns and attending all the shows for the many different breeds – not just Speckle Park.

Speckle Park has become popular with producers in Australia because of their hardiness – a necessity in a climate such as Australia’s – and their functionality. Agribition sees many Australians in attendance to check out breeds such as the Speckle Park.

There are 191 international guests at Agribition this year, with 17 countries represented. Ebbeck says that of international attendees he’s spoken with, many are Australian. 

Ebbeck’s wife, Svetlana Kouzan, has attended Agribition three times and hopes to attend many more.

“I absolutely love Canada,” Kouzan says.

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As well, the 2022 Commercial Breeder of the Year was awarded to Kara and Nita Wilson by Harasymchuk, during the Canadian National Speckle Park Sale in November. Congratulations to the Wilson family!

In other news, the 2023 Canadian Speckle Park Association AGM will take place June 16–17, 2023, in Cambridge, Ont., along with the second annual Speckle Park Summer Sale On Ice. The sale is through DLMS Farm Gate Timed Auction. Anyone interested in the sale can contact Cayley (info@canadianspecklepark.ca) to consign semen and embryo lots. 

The AGM will be hosted at the Cambridge Hotel and Conference Centre with a block of rooms held for the Canadian Speckle Park Association. Be sure to mention CSPA at time of booking for the best rate. The AGM will include tours, a junior showmanship fun show, meetings and a banquet. The hotel can be reached at (519) 622-1505 to book your room.

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Having grown up on a commercial operation with Angus-cross cattle, Jenn Saunders knew that wasn’t the type of cattle she wanted to raise. All over the Prairies, you can see other popular cattle breeds, such as Charolais, Herefords and Simmentals. But the Saunders knew they wanted something different.

After doing some research, they decided on a breed of cattle rarely seen in Canada: the British White.

“We’ve never been ones to follow the status quo,” says Jenn Saunders.

The British White is an old breed, with herds in various parts of Britain dating back centuries. The cows are moderately sized, and both cows and bulls are known to be docile.

The Speckle Park, a fairly new breed developed in the mid-1900s in Saskatchewan, was influenced by several breeds. The Speckle Park’s black ears and noses are traits likely pulled from the British White.

Now, the Saunders run Chillo Creek Ranch near Prince George, B.C., where they have a herd of around 100 British Whites as well as a few Angus crosses. The family focuses on regenerative practices such as rotational grazing. They also raise various breeds of pigs, chickens and turkeys, and direct-market their meat.

The Saunders were attracted to the British White because of their temperaments. Raising their children on the farm, they wanted a cattle breed that they would be comfortable having their kids around.

“What shocked us about them is that they’re so gentle,” Saunders says.

“I’d say 90 per cent of them, they have calves out there and you can walk right up to the calf and they just stand there. They watch you but they’re not too worried.”

Saunders describes their British White cattle as friendly, gentle and calm. This means the cattle are easy to move and work with during calving season.

After deciding they wanted to raise British White on their ranch, the Saunders had to find a seller. At the time there were very few, if any, ranches in Western Canada that raised British White cattle. They ended up getting the first eight cows of their herd from a ranch in Idaho. They also purchased two bulls — one unregistered from Manitoba and a registered one from New Brunswick.

They also ended up getting some semen straws from the U.K., the home of the British White.

“We thought well, what’s a better place to get original semen from,” Saunders says.

However, when they had an issue using the straws, a producer from Texas bought the straws from them. They then purchased a bull calf from him that was conceived with seman from the straws.

Now going forward, Saunders says they’d like to be pickier about their herd’s genetics.

 “We’ve done some really good work in collecting bulls, so that’s good. But I think the next thing we need to do is to get another line of cows,” she says.

Since Chillo Creek Ranch started raising British White cattle, a few more ranches in Western Canada have popped up that raise them as well. However, there still aren’t enough to make an association in Canada.

Saunders says she thinks this is because auction marts are very predictable in what they want to buy — and that’s not British White.

Because Chillo Creek Ranch direct-markets its beef, this isn’t an issue for them. Saunders thinks it may take a while for the breed to gain more popularity in Canada, but is possible with the help of people passionate about it.

“I think that they could pick up popularity, kind of like Speckle Parks have. But I think it will take like those people that want to go out into the show ring and blow dry their bulls and make them look beautiful. And that I think that’s what it’s going to take because that’s how you get them in the public eye really, outside the auction.”

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