Milky ​Way Speckle Parks

In 1937 Mary Lindsay, the daughter of a beef farmer of Greenstreet Northern Saskatchewan, Canada, spotted a uniquely coloured speckled roan heifer in her father's herd. Being interested in unusual colours of livestock especially cattle, the uniquely coloured pattern impressed her so she bought the heifer from her father.  She found regardless of the breed of sire she bred the cow to, it always produced calves with that colour pattern. It is believed that the heifer was a descendent of a Teeswater Shorthorn and a bull which had the white park colour pattern.  Mary continued to breed speckled cattle and found that the speckled pattern was a dominant trait in her newer version of those ancient breeds. They were quite in nature and kept the hardiness of their ancestors. 

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In 1958, Beef cattle breeders, Bill and Eileen Lamont, of Maidstone, SK who at that time were breeding Angus cattle and Appaloosa horses bought their first speckled cattle from Mary. They then began a breeding programme crossing their "speckled" cows with superior purebred registered Black Angus bulls in late 50's and early 60's. Lamonts named the cattle Speckle Park – Speckle for the colour pattern and Park for the white with points pattern of the English cattle. The resulting offspring came in a variety of colour patterns, some white with black points, some leopard coloured (spotted on their sides) and some black sided with speckled hips, white top and underline and roan faces.  The Lamonts grew very interested in their Speckle Park and decided to attempt to develop a new breed.

Other beef cattle breeders started to notice them at cattle markets, selling for a premium price. Interest grew in these hardy, heavy milking and distinctly marked cattle which resulted in breeders purchasing bulls and females from the Lamont's to use in their herds. Within a few short years a dedicated group of breeders were now breeding Speckle Park cattle mainly from the Nielburg area of northern Saskatchewan. 

In 1985 with the help and support of nine of those other Saskatchewan cattlemen the Canadian Speckle Park Association was formed. Their aim from there on was to stabilize the breed and have them recognized as a pure breed.

On June 4, 1993, Agriculture Canada approved the incorporation of the Canadian Speckled Park Association and Speckle Parks were declared an Evolving breed of cattle which included going through stringent protocol procedures of stabilizing Breed characteristics and keeping pedigrees.

 

On July 6th 2006 the Minister for Agriculture announced the Speckle Park Breed a Distinct Pure Breed the first and only breed to be developed in Saskatchewan CANADA.

2007:  Speckle Parks were introduced into Australia by Speckle Park Cattle Co and into New Zealand by Lindsay Jones in partnership with Maunghahina Stud and Waio Stud.  The association was established in 2008 and the first New Zealand member joined in 2010.  Now there are thousands of Speckle Parks in both New Zealand and Australia.