Crossed up with Speckles and loving it

But for him, that chance has produced a cracking cross that he reckons you can't beat.

Mr Hayward, who runs a cattle property in the Lameroo region of South Australia, has been crossing Speckle Park bulls with his Angus herd.

And the progeny are kicking all sorts of goals - both when it comes to flavoursome, marbled meat and the distinctive Speckle Park colouring.

Mr Hayward used to grow crops and run first-cross Merinos, as well as cattle.

But when he decided it was time to retire, they sold the cropping and sheep properties. They chose to run just cattle and opted for a pure Angus herd.

But it was eight years ago when he was chatting with his stock agent that his plans took a little turn.

"The stock agent was looking at buying a property near Lameroo, and I asked him what breed of cattle he was thinking of having if he bought the place," he said.

"I expected him to say Angus, but he didn't. He said Speckle Park.

"He suggested I Google them. So I did, and then we had a bit of a chat and in the end decided the next bull purchase would be a Speckle Park."

Mr Hayward said there were a number of attributes of the breed that impressed him enough to try a new breed.

"Speckle Park have ease of calving, but especially their marbling. They marble better than any other British breed," he said.

"They are the closest you can get to Wagyu marbling with a British breed."

He said Speckle Park cattle could also having a dressing out weight that was up to 70 per cent of live weight.

Their first Speckle Park bull was joined with their pure Angus herd, and Mr Hayward said there were a few surprises.

"We learned a lot in the first calving. We thought that if we joined a Speckle Park bull to Angus cows, we would roughly have 25pc white or leopard, 50pc Speckles and 25pc black," he said.

"But this wasn't the case. We actually had no whites, and about 50-50 Speckles and blacks."

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But one thing was for sure - he was hooked.

"I was fascinated," he said. "They are a magnificent animal."

It wasn't long after buying their first Speckle Park bull that Mr Hayward was put in contact with John Ellis, Hanging Rock Speckle Park stud, Newham, Victoria.

This was the start of a relationship that has flourished into a fantastic collaboration.

Mr Hayward buys in pure Angus breeders which are based on Bull Oak Well Angus stud, Pinnaroo, SA, genetics.

He then sources his Speckle Park bulls from Hanging Rock, with the guidance of Mr Ellis and his right-hand man Paul Hourn.

"I want a bull with good structure, good feet, low birthweight and a good constitution," he said.

"I really listen to John and Paul, and even let them select bulls for me."

He said as well as having the attributes he was looking for in cattle, Hanging Rock cattle also had another big benefit.

"It is the quietness of the animals," he said.

"John has them grazing through the vineyards, and people can almost pat them.

"John has them so they can be trained to be led in shows by students.

"We have a really good relationship."

Mr Hayward's 100 Angus breeders are joined to Speckle Park bulls around June for eight weeks for a March/April calving.

The first-cross calves are kept on their mothers until they are around 10 months old and weigh in the region of 350 kilograms.

At weaning, the calves are only kept in the yards for 24 hours. They are then let into a paddock with plenty of feed, which is through an electrified fence from their mothers.

Mr Hayward's property has undulating sandy rises with sandy loam flats.

"Like most British breed cattle, they handle it well," he said.

Mr Hayward sells the tops of his yearling steer calves to Hanging Rock, which are then fattened and sold through their Hanging Rock Beef brand at the cellar door.

Meanwhile, the remaining steers and heifers are sold through Elders Naracoorte.

"Many of the Speckle Park-Angus cross heifers are bought as breeders," he said.

For a while, Mr Hayward was considering heading in the direction of a pure Speckle Park herd.

But in the end he found the Angus and Speckle Park cross was still hitting his targets.

"I've found the weaners are achieving a high price, being a Speckle Park-cross."

"And even with the black Speckle Park cattle, buyers just see the black."

Instead, he is moving towards using more Speckle Park white bulls in his breeding program, which means there are even fewer black progeny and more speckled coats in the mix.

"I have certainly noticed there is more and more interest in Speckle Park cattle," he said.

"The future of the breed is looking very good."