USSA REGISTRY PROGRAMS CURRENT
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The United Suffolk Sheep Association offers several registry programs in addition to its purebred registry. Some of these programs support or tie into the purebred registry through continual registry. For more details on any of these programs, please contact the USSA Office.
GENETIC AQUISITION PROGRAM (GAP):
AMNESTY PROGRAM: The Suffolk Amnesty Program was established to provide a means for United Suffolk Sheep Association or United Junior Suffolk Sheep Association members to catch up on registry work. Eligibility for Suffolk Amnesty Program is as follows: ● Submit Amnesty Program application form for review by the USSA. ● With acceptance into the Suffolk Amnesty Program, registrations are $10/head for sheep over the age of 1 year old. ● Enrollment in the Suffolk Amnesty Program is limited; flocks are eligible to enroll once every 7 years. ● The Suffolk Amnesty Program is intended to assist breeders that have had a multiple-year lapse in registrations. Yearlings do not qualify for the reduced rate unless they are part of a group of applications including older sheep. Regular fees apply to the current year lambs. ● Program open to Purebred, Percentage and GAP Upon acceptance to the Suffolk Amnesty Program, flocks can apply for registry using the various registration applications. If a GAP flock is enrolling in the Amnesty program, GAP application and acceptance is also required. PERCENTAGE PROGRAM: The Suffolk Percentage Program was created by the National Suffolk Sheep Association and was grandfathered into the United Suffolk Sheep Association when the National Suffolk Sheep Association and American Suffolk Society merged in 1999. The Suffolk Percentage Program created a means for members to identify and maintain records on their non- purebred replacement seed stock. Percentage registered Suffolks will receive Percentage Registration Certificate which indicates the animal’s purity below the gender listing in the top left-hand corner. Animals will receive this paper until they have reached 15/16 or 94% pure. At 94% the animal is considered to be a purebred Suffolk and will receive a white purebred registration paper. For an animal to enter the Percentage Program, at least one parent must be registered as a Purebred or Percentage Suffolk. It's allowable to make matings between percentages, even those that would decrease the percentage in the next generation, if the breeder believes that a slower path to purebred fits their program better. In any mating scheme the percentage or unregistered sheep can be male or female. There is no flock program application required for the percentage program, those who are interested can use the application for registration noting PERCENTAGE on the form.
In 2015, USSA Board developed a Suffolk genetic recovery program under the breed improvement plan as it became apparent that a number of Suffolk breeders had not registered their Suffolks for many years. Usually this was due to generational change and a long lapse in connection to the registry. The Suffolk GAP program provides an avenue to record unregistered Suffolk ewes in the flock book at 75% Suffolk with application acceptance. The percentage program will be used to track generational progress in the GAP program. These ewes, over time and generations, are eligible to become purebred (white paper) when using a registered purebred ram in the subsequent breeding seasons after entry. All animals registered through GAP will have a permanent designation on their registration paper noting their original descent. Eligibility for Suffolk GAP registrations ● Must be a member in good standing of the USSA or UJSSA ● Certify to the best of your knowledge that the sheep being considered for GAP are of Suffolk descent. ● Offspring of these ewes are only eligible for registration if sired by a registered Suffolk ram. ● Registration papers have not been maintained on these ewes for numerous generations or are descendants of a Suffolk flock that has not maintained the papers. ● Records have been maintained on the ewes and you are confident that they are Suffolk in their genetic makeup. Application Instructions ● Enrollment and acceptance into the program is limited to one time. Ewes are enrolled, accepted, and recorded as a complete group. There is no additional entry for ewes in subsequent years. ● Fill out the background questionnaire/application about the ewes to be enrolled. ● An inspection, either physically or photographically, will validate their phenotype and determine their eligibility for program acceptance. ● Once ewes have been approved for registration an inventory list of initial entry ewes that includes tag number and birth year should be submitted to the association. To register lambs, complete the application for registration, noting GAP on the form.
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