I have been raising Suffolk sheep for about 50 years. My dad bought me my first one when I was five and fed on a bottle and I've been raising them ever since. My sheep have always been registered. I've used BYU and now Alan Batt rams. I still kept records on my sheep but I didn't keep up on my registration papers. I have lately just got them all registered again through the GAP program. I think keeping your sheep registered brings other avenues for selling your
sheep and knowing the pedigrees of which they are out of. I am so grateful that the Suffolk Sheep Association had a GAP program. Mike Olsen, Utah
OLSEN
ELDER
I got my start in the sheep business by breeding short term western ewes to Suffolk bucks to lamb out a lamb crop or two. I was having trouble finding bucks that would hold up and survive more than a year or two. I was given the chance to buy out a flock that had been selling bucks and was very reputable. I brought 200 ewes and bucks to Kan- sas and they took off. We are geared towards supplying the commercial guys with hardy, easy keeping bucks that last. I have been importing semen and AI breeding to some bucks that include Cassius from Scotland, 2 Paki-iti bucks from New Zealand, Batt 009, Batt 002, Batt 6032, Batt 645, Batt 9043, and Van Dyke 732 and 715 with good luck. I saw the opportunity to get into the GAP program to start getting some traceability on the sheep. Justin Elder, Kansas
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