United Suffolk Sheep Association P.O. Box 121 ● Holland, IA 50642
OFFICE: 641.684.5291 ● FAX: 734.335.7646 EMAIL: info@suffolks.org ● WEBSITE: suffolks.org
he Suffolk breed, an original
meatiness and wool quality from the old original British Southdown. The Norfolk Horned sheep, now rare, were a wild and hardy breed. They were black faced, light fleeced sheep. Both sexes were horned. The upland regions of Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridge on the southeastern coast of England are very rugged and forage is sparse. It was this dry, cold and windy area in which the Norfolk breed adapted itself to traveling great distances for food, thereby developing a superbly muscular body. It was said at that time of the Norfolk Horned, "their limbs are long and muscular, their bodies are long and their general form betokens activity and strength." This breed and its crosses were valued highly both by farmers and butchers. However, sheepmen of that day did not like the long legs, flat sides, nor
wild nature of the Norfolk Horned. They noted that Southdowns crossed with Norfolks produced a progeny that reduced most of the criticisms of both breeds. In 1886, the English Suffolk Society was organized to provide registry service and to further develop the use of the breed. Through selection and careful breeding by many great English sheepmen, the Suffolk brought to this country retained the qualities for which they were originally mated. The first Suffolks were brought to this country in 1888 by Mr. G.B. Streeter of Chazy, New York. During a visit to England the previous year, Mr. Streeter had been greatly impressed by Suffolk sheep. These prize breeding animals had belonged to Joseph Smith of Hasketon, and one 21 month old ewe weighed exactly 200 pounds when she came off the ship.
A nine month old ram weighed 195 pounds and in the spring of 1890, a seven week old twin weighed 85 pounds. That spring Streeter had a 200% lamb crop. The Suffolk did not make its appearance in the western states until 1919. Three ewes and two rams had been donated by the English Suffolk Sheep Society to the University of Idaho. One of the rams was to be sold at auction at the National Ram Sale in Salt Lake City, Utah. Several leading sheepmen saw these sheep at the sale and they liked what they saw. After several rounds of bidding, the ram was finally sold to Laidlaw and Brockie (developers of the Panama breed) of Muldoon, Idaho, for $500. These men were so impressed with the offspring from their Suffolk ram that they made several importations and were consistent buyers at the National Ram Sale.
cancellation of so many of our major shows and sales was another tough pill to swallow. Many of us missed the social aspects of being around our sheep friends as much as the actual events themselves. On the bright side, our online sales were pretty successful. Our investment fund continues to do well. The GAP program has helped a few breeders get back into the registered Suffolk business. We have a small, but dedicated Junior Board that is excited for
English breed, was the result of crossing Southdown rams on Norfolk Horned ewes.
Dear Suffolk Breeders, I hope you enjoy the 2021 Suffolk Breeder Directory. We are excited to be partnering with The Showtimes to create a fresh, new look. The new partnership also provides the opportunity for a larger share of the ad = revenue to go back to our association.
The product of this cross was determined to be a great improvement over either one of the parents. Although the Suffolk was a recognized breed as early as 1810, the flock book was not closed until much later. In 1930, Southdowns were described as large sheep without horns, dark faces and legs, fine bones and long small necks. They were gray to mouse brown on the face and legs. They were low set in front with high shoulders and light forequarters; however, their sides were good, rather broad in the loin and were full in the thigh and twist. Today's Suffolk derives its
First, I’d like to welcome our newest board members – Matt Wolf (ID), Jeff Baumann (MO), Dennis Sorensen (IL), and Bill Zwyers (IN) – thank you for your willingness to serve. A big thank you to our outgoing board members: Blair Summey, Tom Burke, Gary Hoskins and Bret Henderson - for your dedication to the Suffolk breed. And to our returning board members:
2021. And we welcomed several new breeders into the Suffolk family, including two from my home state that I met for the first time this year. We all know that there is a fair amount of diversity within our breed of different types and kinds of Suffolk sheep. Each of us should continue to raise the kind of Suffolk sheep that
Randy Hodges, Greg Ahart, Cynthia Huckins, Brenda Reau, Carol Heupel, Jim Van Dyke and Randy Dombek – thanks for the leadership you continue to provide. And especially to our Secretary Amanda – we couldn’t do any of this without you. Most importantly, I want to thank you, the members, for your enthusiasm for Suffolk sheep. Thank you to the 350+ breeders who took the time to share their thoughts and concerns in the needs assessment! This survey has provided so much valuable information to help guide the board in our decisions as we look to the future. We will share a summary of the results with you when we finish analyzing all of the data. While we may not have complete agreement on all the issues, some messages came through loud and clear – such as the need for better communication between the board and the rest of the members. 2020 was a difficult year for a variety of reasons. The tragic loss of several of our breeders due to COVID and other illnesses has touched us all. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those families. A number of other Suffolk flocks made the difficult decision to disperse. Those breeders will certainly be missed. The
we like and that we can effectively market. Regardless of which type you raise, we can all work to improve the structural soundness and functionality of our flocks. Suffolks became the most popular breed in the US because they excelled in terms of growth rate and carcass merit – traits important to the commercial sheep industry. We can’t lose sight of that. We also need to pay attention when our customers complain about lack of longevity and fleshing ease in Suffolks, and work to improve those traits in our flocks. I think we have made strides in these areas, but we have more work to do. I repeated this paragraph from last year because there are many who seem to be under the impression that the board is trying to force everyone to raise the same kind of sheep and I assure you that is not the case! Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or any of your district board members. I can be reached at jeremy.geske@gmail.com or 612- 756-1200. Hope to see many of you at Suffolk events this year. Cheers, Jeremy Geske
Executive Secretary amanda@suffolks.org
Amanda, our friendly secretary, and office staff can get you the answers or information you need. Her job is to provide the very best service to Suffolk breeders around the world. And she is good at it!
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