ARCHIVE HISTORICAL SUFFOLK
FROM A HANDWRITTEN LETTER RECEIVED FROM WARREN KUHL, DECEMBER 18, 2013 TYPING AND MINOR MECHANICAL EDITING BY DR. JOE EMENHEISER, MARCH 8, 2023
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Dear Joe: […] Suffolks didn’t start to take a strong hold in the U.S. until the 1940s. Hampshires were the main crossbreeding sire. Suffolk brood ewes were scarce and expensive to import. So Suffolk rams were used particularly in the West to change over Hamp ewes. (This didn’t hurt the typical common hip structure on the Suffolks.) During the 1930s-50s, most Canadian and U.S. importations were from grass-based flocks in England and Scotland. One of the prominent Canadian importers was Phillip Rock of Rockville Farms, Drumheller, Alberta, Canada. Other outstanding breeders were C.P.R. (Canadian Pacific Railroad; Jock Stevens, shepherd), Pickett and Harold Trentum along with Stoneman. These were some of the leading breeders that breeders in the U.S. looked to for seedstock. There were several U.S. breeders in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s that had significant impacts. Two that stand out to me are Green Valley Farms (Fred and Marion Coble) of Winters, CA, and Roy Warrick of Beau Geste Farms of Oskaloosa, IA. Through observation and over time, it is my opinion that these two breeders had some of the longest-term success and impact in U.S. Suffolk history. British, Canadian, and U.S. Suffolks were very similar up to the early 1960s. The Suffolk ram was considered first as a crossbreeding sire. He had no peers. A show ram / stud prospect was thought able to sire a good commercial ram or a good market lamb. As a show / stud ram, he was of the same type, only prettier and closer to perfection. Typical talking points by judges could be: natural muscling, width of top, width and depth of loin, width from hooks to pins and down through the stifles. They spoke of rib and capacity. Size was emphasized in the body. Depth of jaw was mentioned (this showed
1968. He purchased mainly yearling ewes from Olsen Bros and a few from Jack Larsen. Later the Four Star Boys trickled to Spanish Fork: Steve George, Robbie Frost, Mike Nelsh, and Maurie Bosse, and a few others. The Intermountain Suffolk was generally a little framier animal. They were bred in large numbers for the Western commercial ram trade. They were generally less consistent in breed character and were much more hetero genetically. By the 1970s, the race for height was in full swing. Fancy metal measuring sticks were engineered to measure height. After Roger Nichols got a few crops out of the OB Thousand Peaks daughters, he sold them to Steve George. This was the foundation that made George Bros. By the mid 1970s, some of the prominent Midwestern breeders had heard of B.B. Burroughs of Homedale, ID. (B.B. was in his 80s at the time.) B.B. said to me, “They come and pick out my pistol barrels and pay good money for them, and I laugh all the way to the bank.” (Pistol barrels meant streamlined with no guts.) What was considered extreme in 1970 would have been considered toads by 1980. Judges’ talking points become: more size, clean front ends, height of chest floor, length of neck. Wether competitors strove for a thin skin, a long lean neck, and chiseled front end. Of course, body building equipment helps compensate for a back end that follows accordingly. What was considered framey in the 1970s would have been called toads by the late 80s. U.S. Suffolks on NSIP were mostly typical frame type Suffolks. They could have good gain as long as the cereal grain was in heavy use. (Prior to the 1970s, the typical U.S. yearling ram could be grown out for sale on around 2 lb of oats per day.) When the NSIP rams
came out West and entered the breeding pasture without grain, they could not hold up. That is true to this day. I believe that around the late 1990s, UC Davis, more specifically Dr. Nancy East, researched longevity in yearling Suffolk rams that were bought in California ram sale (more Suffolk rams are sold in CA than any other state). Research found that they lasted an average of 1 ½ years after leaving the sale as yearlings. It takes a tremendous amount of cereal grains to get these rams into shape. Most cannot do well on grass. British Suffolks lost fleshing ability for another reason – mainly at the bequest of academia – it was bred off. Now it takes a tremendous amount of feed to get them into shape, and they don’t last long. After all these years of focusing in this direction, they are scrambling for fleshing ability. The Suffolk that has for many decades been the leading crossbreeding sire is being threatened by other breeds – particularly Texel. Between the extreme trends in the U.S. show ring and the extreme emphasis of British academia on production, the Suffolk has lost efficient metabolism / fleshing ability, longevity, toughness, and ease of care. Many years ago, I started to be concerned about important things that were being lost by extreme narrow selection genetics. I coined a sentence into large print and hung it over my office door for many years. It said: When sculpting with genetics, the wise breeder knows that no one part of the anatomy is so exaggerated as to foster weakness in any other part. […]
constitution and strength of breeding) along with good flat bone and a big foot. A thick, heavy ear indicated a thick hide which handled climate variables and external parasites better, plus a better pelt. Starting in the late 1960s and early 70s, Suffolk type began to change in both the U.S. and Britain. The U.S. gravitated to more frame and less body. The Brits gravitated to less frame and more muscle. The typical British housewife wanted a smaller leg of lamb (which New Zealand was supplying). British Suffolk producers responded in kind. The British academia began to promote production records (much like NSIP here plus loin and leg scores). Bringing the fat down was a major endeavor. It played a major factor in body scores. The late 1960s and early 70s found several Midwest Suffolk producers going to Spanish Fork, UT for seedstock. This was the mecca for breed change. There were several prominent growers within a six mile radius around Spanish Fork. Olsen Bros ran over 1,000 Suffolk ewes. Jack Larsen @ 600. They were two of the more prominent along with Caras Bros (500), Charlie Olsen (400), Shepherds @500, Raleigh Williams @ 500, etc. Several of the Spanish Fork producers obtained some of their top studs from B.B. Burroughs of Homedale, ID. B.B. ran about 3,500 Suffolk ewes. He strove for more frame than the typical showring sheep. He started in Suffolks purchasing from J.P. Gray (a Suffolk importer) in 1936. He bought in studs from CPR of Canada. Jock Stevens (shepherd for CPR) was one of the few emphasizing more frame at that time. Roger Nichols of Prairie City, IA was one of the first to go to Spanish Fork and purchase Intermountain breeding around
Best Wishes,
Warren
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