We enjoyed our week at Papamoa in spite of the inclement weather. The sea was rough the whole time we were there, so no fishing was done. We only walked on the beach twice. We did spend a lot of time catching up with friends, so that made for a pleasant week.
We hadn't been back an hour and a sparrow was putting grass into the hitch! Eddie has covered it all over, so nothing can get in now. The starling still wanders up and down the fence behind us, keeping an eye out for a gap somewhere.
There are some interesting looking young cattle in the paddock behind us. They posed quite well when I took their photo. I didn't know what breed they are, so I did some googling and found out which I have added below. I got this from a cattle breeding site, whose name escapes me now.
 |
| Speckle Park Cattle |
History
In
1937 Mary Lindsay, daughter of a beef farmer of Greenstreet Northern
Saskatchewan, Canada, spotted a uniquely coloured speckled red roan
heifer in her fathers herd. The unique colour pattern impressed her
and she subsequently bought the heifer from her dad.
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 which carried the
White Park gene as well. These two ancient breeds dating back to the
16th
Century
were hard, strong and milky. Mary continued to breed speckled cattle
and found that the speckled pattern was a dominant trait in her newer
version of those ancient breeds. The cattle grew quickly, were hardy
and quiet natured.
In
1959, Eileen and Bill Lamont (Angus breeders from Maidstone, SK),
became interested in Mary's speckled cattle, bought their first
speckled heifer. It was to lead to the development of what is now
known as the Speckle Park cattle breed. The Lamonts crossed their
"speckled" cows with superior registered Black Angus bulls
in the late 50's and early 60's. The resulting offspring came in a
variety of colour patterns, 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.
Over
time the Lamonts breeding work created high quality carcass cattle,
light birth weights with the speckled colouring. They decided to name
their cattle Speckle Park cattle. Other beef cattle breeders saw them
come through the cattle markets and bringing a premium price. Their
interest grew in these hardy, heavy milking and distinctly marked
cattle to the stage they started purchasing bulls and females from
the Lamonts to try them in their herds. Within a few 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 of nine 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 were declared an evolving
breed of cattle. February 14th
1995
saw the Associations first set of by-laws granted by ministerial
approval.
History
was made on July 6th
2006
when the Minister for Agriculture announced the Speckle Park breed a
distinct pure breed, the first and only breed to be developed in
Saskatchewan Canada.
Statistics
Easy calving, low birth weights
Highly fertile-with magnificent udders and high milk flow
Breed renowned fault free structures
Polled breed
Docile cattle, quiet, tractable and kind natured
Impressive weight gains off both grass and grain
High Marbling yet perfect fat covering, off grass or grain
Incredible yielding carcasses, impressive quality fine tender meat
Hardy and tough with dark pigmented skin
Attractive, easy on the eye
Distribution
Today
there are over 70 Purebred members and some 3,000 registered cows on
the register in Canada alone. In 2007 and 2008 over 700 embryos and
1500 straws of Speckle Park genetics have been exported to Australia,
New Zealand, Ireland and Denmark with the first calves due in May
2008.
A
group of Australians have in 2007 formed the Australian Speckle Park
Association and will handle registrations for both Australia and New
Zealand. They will also be the first to have a Performance Data
Recording system in place for Speckle Parks, with University of New
England, Armidale, Australia and the Agricultural Business Research
Institute of Australia, which will bring a new and exciting dimension
to the breed.
