The inaugural Lennock Ram Speckles in the Capital sale presents a rare opportunity for local farmers to purchase world-class Speckle Park cattle.
Scheduled to run on 18 September, the sale will forge ahead on location at SELX Yass in a predominantly online, Covid-safe manner with viewings by appointment available.
Speckles in the Capital is the brainchild of Gerard Walsh and Alex Pateman, the principals of Kikiamah and Rose Hill Speckle Park studs, who recognised a lack of Speckle cattle in the Canberra region and wanted to distribute the breed throughout the area.
Traditionally, Speckle Parks are a moderate framed, early maturing animal that produces a high yielding, high quality finished carcass at 14-18 months.
First bred in Canada, the breed suits southern Australian conditions to a tee, thriving through the relatively mild winters (compared to -40oC in Canada) and comfortably managing the dry, hot summers.
Gerard said Speckles in the Capital will promote the Monaro and Southern NSW region to the rest of the country as an exceptional cattle region.
Looking to establish the sale as an annual event for years to come, he hopes it will draw people to the region in due time when travel restrictions allow.
“We’re hoping this is not a one-off sale,” Gerard said.
The high-yield, fertile Speckle cattle are ideally suited to a variety of farmers.
For larger cattle operations traditionally turning off bigger framed, later finishing cattle, Speckles present a second revenue stream; joining older cows and heifers to a Speckle bull will produce a high-quality calf at a younger age.
Speckles also present advantages to NSW South Coast dairy farmers; using a Speckle bull over dairy heifers can add considerable value to their calves too.
With somewhere in excess of 2,500 small farms within a 200km radius of Canberra, Gerard said Speckles are also ideal for the discerning small holding farmer looking to maximise their profits with high performance front paddock cattle.
“They’re an easy doing, good foraging cattle well suited to the region,” he said.
Alex said the Speckles in the Capital sale boasts the most diverse offering of leading Speckle Park genetics ever consigned in Australia.
On offer at the sale are premium quality Speckle Park bulls and Speckle Park females from the widest Speckle Park genetics base of any sale.
Over 100 lots are up for auction from 12 southern NSW studs, meaning a wide variety of genetics will be available throughout the sale.
The sale will consist of 80-plus live stud lots along with genetics packages including semen and embryos.
The Speckles in the Capital sale will be held at Southern Eastern Livestock Exchange (SELX) in Yass, prominently located just off the Hume Highway.
Interested online buyers must register via the Auctions Plus website prior to the sale.
The cattle will be on location at SELX, with arranged inspections available from the afternoon of Friday 17 September.
For those unable to attend, videos of the individual cattle will be uploaded to Auctions Plus two weeks prior to the sale.
Local and interstate transport post-sale can also be arranged.
The Speckles in the Capital sale will run Saturday 18 September at SELX, Yass. The Speckle Park infused cattle sale starting at 10am and the Speckle Park Stud cattle and genetics sale 12pm; visit agstock.com.au for more.
For more information on sponsored partnerships, click here.
