part of the future of the breed and association. What advice would you give a new Suffolk breeder or junior member? Take the time to find the right breeders to work with. We’ve lost plenty of new people who chose the wrong mentors – and they won’t be back. There are a few different kinds of Suffolks, make sure you realize that you need to find the right Suffolks to fit your situation. If you could do one thing over in designing your breeding program, what would you do differently? Plenty! For starters, I probably would have worked on more aggressively line breeding the sheep earlier on. My Suffolks live in a small gene pool portion of the Suffolk world. What I want is hard to find, but I’ve enjoyed the results of making it myself. What is your favorite lamb dish/recipe? Chops, broiled or on the grill, with some seasoning and Worcestershire sauce. Mary’s stay on two minutes longer than mine. Cynthia Huckins, Nevada – District 1 How did you get started in the Suffolk business? Like many people that have sheep it started as a 4-H project that I never outgrew. What has your involvement been with the Suffolk Association(s) and the sheep industry? I am currently on the Suffolk board. I consider my biggest accomplishments mentoring young breeders and helping to move their sheep in the direction of their goals. What advice would you give a new Suffolk breeder or junior member? Everyone’s goals are different. Find the Suffolk sheep that will best help you achieve your goals and build your flock in that direction. Reach out to other breeders that are willing to give you sound information and then find out what works best for you. Don’t get discouraged when faced with challenges that comes with raising livestock. What is your favorite lamb dish/recipe? Leg of lamb, shish kebabs and barbecue meatballs with barbecue or tzatziki sauce are some of my favorite ways to enjoy lamb. MattWolf, Idaho – District 1 How did you get started in the Suffolk business? After living in Idaho for 10 years and always having livestock growing up, we wanted to raise something that we would enjoy looking at as well as market locally and nationally. Doing some research into several breeds of sheep we decided on Suffolk’s as they checked more of our “needs and wants” boxes. What has your involvement been with the Suffolk Association(s) and the sheep industry? I am currently on the Directory, By-law and Hall of Fame committees. What Suffolk breeders had the biggest impact on you (not your flock, but you), and why? Ruby Mountain Sheep Company (Cynthia Huckins) has had the largest influence in our flock as we have used several stud bucks from Ruby Mountain. These bucks
Buck Dynasty, Rolling Deep, Collusion, and BuckingA can be found in all our pedigrees. What do you feel are some opportunities/strengths of the Suffolk Association/breed? I think a strength of the Suffolk breed is that it is multifunctional. If you raise Suffolk sheep, you are not locked into one style of Suffolk sheep. What advice would you give a new Suffolk breeder or junior member? Raise what you like to look at every day, good or bad. Connect with someone that is raising what you want to raise and pick his or her brain to gain as much knowledge as you can. Building something to be proud of takes FAILURES and TIME. Sheep good or bad do die. What is your favorite lamb dish/recipe? Grilled Lamb chops. Tom Burke, Missouri – District 2 How did you get started in the Suffolk business? As a kid I raised commercial sheep & purchased my first purebred Suffolk in 1980, about 43 years ago! What has your involvement been with the Suffolk Association(s) and the sheep industry? My involvement in the Suffolk Association: I served as President of the National Suffolk Association, the United Suffolk Association, & have been involved in numerous committees and have also been involved in the Missouri Suffolk Association. What do you feel are some opportunities/strengths of the Suffolk Association/breed? The United Suffolk Association is a very strong breed organization. They address the needs of the breeders, keep the members informed, and are always willing to assist. What do you feel are challenges the Suffolk Association/ Breed faces? The biggest challenges are dwindling numbers. The prices and demand for commercial Suffolk have never been better or sheep in general. We must continue to promote the value of using Suffolk’s in a commercial environment and continue to pursue their popularity in the purebred circles. What advice would you give a new Suffolk breeder or junior member? The Suffolk Association has a great junior program! It was the original one in the industry and if you became active and involved as a junior. You will not be disappointed. If you could do one thing over in designing your breeding program, what would you do differently? Most people like Suffolk’s that are big. But at the same time I think we must retain the thickness and give them extra depth of rib and capacity. I believe we need to intensify our focus on these issues. What is your favorite lamb dish/recipe? Lamb Chops! Carol Heupel, Colorado – District 2 How did you get started in the Suffolk business? I started my FFA sheep project in the fall of 1974 with 2 Suffolk market lambs. I grew up in Southern California and lived in a subdivision
MEET YOUR
Director Question & Answer Greg Ahart, California – District 1 How did you get started in the Suffolk business? My grandmother insisted I needed to raise Suffolks as my 4-H project. We purchased a few ewes locally and a ram (83-231) from Bob and Margie Paasch as the start of that. What has your involvement been with the Suffolk Association(s) and the sheep industry? Personally, I’ve been on the Suffolk board for 4 years. I’m the past president of the CA Suffolk and Hampshire Sheep Breeders Association. I’ve also previously served on the American Lamb Board and National Sheep Industry Improvement Association, past chair of the (now defunct) American Sheep and Goat Center and the CA Wool Growers Association. Professionally I’ve been with Superior Farms (largest American lamb harvest and processing company) for 27 years, currently serving as the VP of Operations. What Suffolk breeders had the biggest impact on you (not your flock, but you), and why? I mentioned buying my first Suffolk ram from Bob and Margie Paasch. Ultimately they also became my in-laws. Also was blessed to become very close with both Leonard Bianchi and Farrell Wankier. All left marks on my development and in my life in different ways. Unfortunately I’ve had to say goodbye to all of them in the last few years, but I do find myself lost in thought on occasion thinking about “what would they have done in this situation?”….great people, great mentors. What do you feel are some opportunities/strengths of the Suffolk Association/breed? There are plenty of opportunities to regain market share if the right sheep are made. Getting back to focusing on what the breed was originally developed for and what it is supposed to do will pay dividends. In terms of true current strengths, the office and Amanda. It would be pretty hard to find someone that doesn’t see how hard she works and how committed she is to the breed. Another strength is the focus on the future. The board is working hard to look to look at where we need to be versus only on where we are. What do you feel are challenges the Suffolk Association/ Breed faces? Succession planning for the next generation of breeders. Attracting new members. Cohesion in direction. I’m also troubled that more breeders aren’t running for the board – I ran unopposed in my district this last go round. We need breeders, that are facing the day to day of the sheep industry, to step up and want to be
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