Speckle Park International magazine - 2022 edition
Committee reports
Feedlot trial, performance data tools and education resources on agenda This year saw the addition of Jared Littlefield, Phil Collis and Nick Endres to the Speckle Park International technical sub-committee and farewelled Paul Guy and Matt Webber. We thank Paul for his enthusiastic time as chair of the technical sub-committee. The Technical sub-committee has been busy working on a series of projects including the Made to Measure program, the design of a feedlot trial, tools to assist in the recording and submission of performance data, supporting the Gonadal Hypoplasia trail and education resources for members. Made to Measure is in the process of being set up and is aimed at recognizing animals that have been performance recorded, relevant to their age. Animals will receive the Made to Measure stamp against their pedigree profile and will allow breeders and buyers to identify fully performance recorded animals with ease. We anticipate the roll out of the Made to Measure program in early 2022. The Gonadal Hypoplasia (GH) trail continues to be undertaken with Dr Jon Beever from the University of Tennessee. Due to the limited prior research into this recessive condition, and that it is noted to be of incomplete penetrance, the development of a DNA test has taken longer than anticipated.
We thank everyone who has submitted samples to support this research, and should anyone with to be involved in the trial, they are encouraged to contact the SPI office via info@specklepark.org Keep an eye out in the coming months for an expression of interest to participate in a feedlot trial and other key developments out of the Technical Sub-Committee
Marketing Report: The Marketing Sub-committee has met each month to discuss and action ways to promote the Speckle Park breed throughout the beef community. The annual magazine is the major project for the Marketing subcommittee and takes up a considerable amount of time. Members have been busy coming up with content ideas, contacting advertisers and developing stories. With several members stepping off the Marketing Sub-Committee this year due to personal commitments, CEO Hannah Bourke got in contact with Kim Woods, Outcross Media, and OGA Creative Agency to assist in the creation of this publication. We thank them for helping us with this magazine. We hope there is something for everyone in here and look forward to bringing you the new format in 2022, in the way of a bi-annual magazine to fall in line with the major sale seasons.
ILROnline streamlines herd record management in real-time This year has seen SPI adopt a new online registration system called ILROnline for members. ILROnline allows members, via their personalized login, to register animals, manage female inventory, submit performance recording data, run reports, transfer animals, and even review why animals aren’t yet registered.
If the animal is noting it doesn’t qualify to its sire, members can then arrange to submit a DNA request to check against other suitable sires.
Interacting directly with the SPI database, ILROnline provides members a more efficient way to submit and manage their herd records in real-time.
There is no DNA functionality within ILROnline, so members will need to continue submit DNA request via the forms found on www.specklepark.org/forms
Once registrations are submitted via ILROnline, members can then submit their DNA submission request forms to finalise the registrations. Upon receipt of the DNA results to SPI, your animals will be registered by the team in the office.
To date, this has only been rolled out to a small number of members as we have put it through its paces and iron out any bugs. Members will be granted access to ILROnline in the coming months. SPI members should keep an eye on their emails for their personalized invitation to ILROnline or email info@specklepark.org to have their access set up
Possibly the most helpful tool in ILROnline is the ability to check the list of “Pending Animals” – these are animals that have not been registered for any number of reasons.
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Via the “Pending Animals” list, you can see exactly why the animal is not registered and make appropriate moves to register the animal. For example, if the animal is missing their DOB, members can edit the animal’s details and add a DOB.
