Chairman’s report/CEO’s message

Hello,

Welcome to the second issue of the Speckle Park Magazine, the official publication of Speckle Park International. With an article to suit the youngest to the oldest Speckle Park enthusiast in your household, grab a cuppa and dive in!

If I had to sum up the last year in one word, it would be change.

Change isn’t bad, but it isn’t always comfortable and Speckle Park International has seen a lot of change in recent times.

Some changes have been significant including the move from ABRI to PBB, the introduction of a CEO to the Speckle Park International framework, changes to the board, a new logo etc. with other changes smaller but still significant such as agreements with Quantum and the development of a world council. In the wider beef world, cattle prices have kept climbing with good seasons around much of Australia rewarding many. Speckle Park have been far from immune to this, with records continuing to tumble for both stud and commercial Speckle Park and Speckle Park X.

Sale yard support for Speckle Park infused cattle has been strong with reports of steers bringing close to $8/kg out of Tamworth Regional Livestock Exchange. The interest in Speckle Park out of Beef 2021 and the wider commercial sector has been strong and as a breed, this is an area we should continue to focus and push into. Widening the commercial adoption and base of Speckle Park cattle will have benefits for all members.

Closer to home, this year we welcomed a robust and enthusiastic Youth Committee to the sub-committee ranks who join both the Marketing and Technical sub-committees. The Youth committee made a real splash at Beef 2021, and have just recently completed a fundraising auction, raising just shy of $19,500 toward their projects in 2021.

The marketing committee’s commitment has been unwavering to the project of the second issue of the Speckle Park magazine, and I cannot thank them enough for it.

The technical committee welcomed some new members in 2021 and have been hard at work on a series of projects which will be launched in 2022, including the Made to Measure program and a Feedlot Trial. I wish to thank all members of the sub-committees I have had the pleasure of working with over the last 12 months – the commitment, enthusiasm and ideas are invigorating. I look forward to supporting them in future projects.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 has continued to plague us in the background and saw Speckle Park sadly withdraw from the Feature Breed at Sydney Royal for 2021. We have applied for the feature breed for both Sydney and Melbourne Royals and hope to be selected for the coming years. 2022 will see Speckle Park as the feature breed at Toowoomba Royal, with both Armidale (NSW) and Proston (QLD) local agricultural shows choosing to feature Speckle Park at their shows.

COVID also saw the postponement of the first Speckle Park Connect Annual National Conference. This event was shaping up to be two days packed with networking, education, farm tours, a black and white gala dinner, and auctions all interspersed with good food and drink. Hopefully we can all get back to face to face activities and can put this event back on the calendar for 2022.

No doubt 2022 will continue to see further changes for Speckle Park International and its members, as the breed continues to grow and develop. Change is a part of life and I am confident the changes coming for Speckle Park will be for the betterment of the breed, and its breeders into the future, securing it as a staple in the beef industry.

Hannah Bourke Chief Executive Officer Speckle Park International

This would be a mammoth achievement in less than 20 years and would certainly cement our place in the beef industry.

I would like to thank fellow Board members for their time and energy over the past year.

I took over the chair from Derek Hayward. I would like to thank Derek for his time and effort on the Board of SPI.

In his seven years on the Board, there were many big changes. It is a big effort for a board member and their family to put in seven years.

It has been a pleasure to fill the role as chairman of your SPI.

Regards

Chairman’s report

What an amazing time to be in the cattle industry with all the young cattle indicators at record heights.

On the stud front it has been hard to keep track of the new female record prices tumbling week by week and bull prices staying strong. Speckle Park cattle are penetrating deeper into the mainstream cattle industry, appearing in the local saleyards at every sale. The membership has experienced strong growth with no sign of slowing down. The Speckle herd continues to grow exponentially and with an increasing number of breeders doing flush programs, I can’t see this growth slowing any time soon.

It is not out of the realm of possibility that within the next five years we will see the female herd reaching 10,000 head.