What advice would you give to a new breeder or youth member? My advice for a new breeder is to align yourself with an established and successful breeder who raises the type of sheep you strive to and is willing to give guidance on management of the flock and give you direction on purchase of breeding stock. Can you tell us a little about your most influential Suffolk (current or past)? The most influential sheep in our flock would have been Dombek Family 2237. She was both prolific and dam to show quality stock. Raised twins one winter followed by twins in the fall, then Quads the following spring, then triplets next winter. One year we had five daughters lambing in our flock. We ended up losing her to an infection after flushing her to get one last shot of her genetics into our flock. What is something most people would be surprised to know about me? I have been raising sheep for 62 years with my flock reaching over 1000 ewes in size. In 2020 I retired and dispersed my commercial flock. My wife and I plan to concentrate solely on Suffolk’s in retirement. Jeremy Geske, Minnesota – District 3 Tell us about your current Suffolk flock. I own a flock of 40 registered Suffolk ewes. I sell breeding rams and ewes to other Suffolk breeders across the country and terminal sires to western range flocks. My flock is enrolled in NSIP, and I keep performance data on all lambs. What has your involvement been with the Suffolk Association(s) and the sheep industry? I am serving my second term as a USSA director and my second term as USSA President. I have also served for many years as President of the MN Suffolk Sheep Association. I am the Secretary for the MN Lamb & Wool Producers Association and have served on that board for many years. I have been active on ASI’s Legislative Action Committee and was recently re-appointed to the National Sheep Industry Improvement Center board. What do you feel are challenges the Suffolk Association/ Breed faces? As a breed, we need to stop our internal bickering and reconnect with the commercial sheep industry. We also need to add value to membership in USSA and to our registration papers. What do you feel are some opportunities/strengths of the Suffolk Association/breed? The strength of our breed is our superior genetics for growth and we need to capitalize on that. Also, we have excellent support from our office and breed Secretary. What advice would you give to a new breeder or youth member? My advice for new members is to not be afraid to invest in your stud rams. Figure out what you need, find a ram that has those traits and buy him. This is not the place to try to save a few dollars.
Can you tell us a little about your most influential Suffolk (current or past)? I’m still waiting for that one to happen! What is something most people would be surprised to know about me? While traveling to a livestock judging contest with a group of students I received two traffic violations within 45 minutes in two different states. Those are the only times I ever received any tickets! The students drove home! Randy Hodges, Michigan – District 4 Tell us about your current Suffolk flock. I currently have about 25 breeding ewes. My flock is enrolled in the NSIP program. I strive to produce a fast growing, moderate framed, structurally correct sheep with good EBV’s for the terminal sire market. What has your involvement been with the Suffolk Association(s) and the sheep industry? I have raised registered Suffolks for almost 60 years with my own flock for 40+ years. I am currently serving my 9th year on the USSA board of directors. I have been honored to serve as Vice President for 5 years. I have also been active in my state Suffolk association and my state Sheep Producers Association. What do you feel are challenges the Suffolk Association/ Breed faces? The steady decline of members, number of animals being registered and transferred. The board is trying to address these issues and figuring out how we can add more value to being a USSA member. What do you feel are some opportunities/strengths of the Suffolk Association/breed? We have a lot of good, progressive members who are raising sheep that serve the commercial terminal sire segment of the sheep industry. What advice would you give to a new breeder or youth member? Find a USSA member/members in your area that can become mentors and answer questions you will have. Can you tell us a little about your most influential Suffolk (current or past)? A “Vegas” son purchased from Mike Nelsh and “Blackjack” a Darrel Gamble ram. Brenda Reau, Michigan – District 4 Tell us about your current Suffolk flock. We run a flock of 25-30 ewes that are bred for performance. About 90% of each year’s lamb crop is sold for breeding stock with half going to other seedstock producers and half going to commercial operations. What has your involvement been with the Suffolk Association(s) and the sheep industry? I have served on the USSA Board of Directors for three years and am the Vice President of the new United
Can you tell us a little about your most influential Suffolk (current or past)? One of the most influential sheep in my flock is a home-raised ram I called “Leonidas”. I used him as a lamb and I entered him at Sedalia as a yearling because I thought he was one of the best rams I had ever raised. Fortunately, I did not get a high enough bid so I no-saled him and used him again (this year I have my fourth lamb crop out of him). He was champion ram at the MN State Suffolk Show and also now ranks in the top 5% of the breed for Post-weaning growth. He is a mix of NSIP and Western Range genetics and his sons and daughters have continued to impress. He has sired lambs in two other flocks (one in NSIP) and will be going to a third NSIP flock this spring. I will be retaining a grandson to be my lead sire for 2022. What is something most people would be surprised to know about me? People might be surprised to know that one of my hobbies is cooking, especially with lamb. Dennis Sorensen, Illinois – District 3 Tell us about your current Suffolk Flock. My flock typically consists of 30 medium to large framed ewes along with a few replacement yearlings and rams. What has your involvement been with the Suffolk Association(s) and the sheep industry? Since I’ve been raising Suffolks for over 50 plus years, I’m guessing that my involvement with the Suffolk Association has been close to that many years as well. Recently, I had the good fortune to serve as an interim Director for District 3. What do you feel are the challenges the Suffolk Association/Breed Faces? The diversity of breed type is both a strength and weakness. The challenge is to develop strategies to improve each breed type to meet the needs of local markets. If accomplished, I’m confident that registrations will increase, revenue will improve and the Association will be able to provide additional member programs and services. What do you feel are some opportunities/strengths of the Suffolk Association/breed? The needs assessment survey that members replied to provided a wealth of data which will enable Association leadership to directly respond with enhanced programs and services and/or breed improvement initiatives. Additionally, the newly formed Foundation is growing and will certainly assist in providing financial security for the long term. What advice would you give a new breeder or youth member? New and or inexperienced members would be wise to seek the advice of an experienced producer. An ongoing mentorship would certainly benefit a new breeder in a variety of ways. Even when the distance is great, a mentor/breeder alliance can help to ensure success for the youth member.
improvement subcommittee and first year on the strategic planning subcommittee. What do you feel are challenges the Suffolk Association/ Breed faces? I see the need to keep Suffolk sheep relevant to the larger commercial sheep industry as an important goal and challenge. Using the genetic, genomic and performance tools in tandem with traditional visual selection will be an escalating educational curve for all of us. What do you feel are some opportunities/strengths of the Suffolk Association/breed? As a breed, we have a large genetic base. The breeds attributes of growth and carcass superiority are needed within the industry. We have an experienced group of breeders and a fantastic breed secretary. What advice would you give to a new breeder or youth member? I would advise new breeders to be open to the idea of change. Educate yourself, stay informed and stay focused on making real breed improvement. Can you tell us a little about your most influential Suffolk (current or past)? I suppose my most influential Suffolk was the first one that I ever bought. She taught me a lot. She had her first lamb unattended on a 20 below zero night and raised it herself. Many of her daughters remain in production here today 37 years later. What is something most people would be surprised to know about me? I have an extensive collection of old livestock books, breed catalogs, pamphlets, sale catalogs and breed memorabilia.
Suffolk Sheep Foundation. I am the current President of the Michigan Sheep Producers Association and serve on the NSIP Board of Directors, and the National Sheep Industry Improvement Center Board of Directors. What do you feel are challenges the Suffolk Association/Breed faces? The Suffolk breed is facing a challenge with breed acceptance and competition from other terminal sires such a Texels in the commercial industry. Our association is faced with decreasing membership and registrations. What do you feel are some opportunities/strengths of the Suffolk Association/breed? The Suffolk breed has a diverse and outstanding set of genetics to offer to the commercial sheep industry. What advice would you give to a new breeder or youth member? Visit with breeders and select one or two breeders to purchase your foundation flock from so that you will have a common set of genetics to build from. Buying a variety of sheep from numerous sources will not give you the consistency you need for a breeding program. Even if they are outstanding individuals, it will be more difficult to design a breeding program around a mix of sheep with different attributes and genetic profiles. I made this mistake starting out 40 years ago and purchased a variety of sheep both privately and through shows and sales. It took several years to develop some uniformity and to be able to successfully line breed. This is especially important if you are starting out small and can only afford to buy one good ram. Can you tell us a little about your most influential Suffolk (current or past)? The most influential sheep in the flock was MSU 4137. He was a ram that could have been easily passed over in selection because he was a triplet, bottle baby. He did not have impressive size but was structurally correct. Being able to examine his EBV’s I could accurately predict what his performance would be and what he would sire in his offspring. He produced many outstanding sons and daughters in our flock and his offspring are still at work in flocks across the country. What is something most people would be surprised to know about me? I am one of the few people in the world who doesn’t like chocolate. Bill Zwyers, Indiana – District 4 Tell us about your current Suffolk flock. I currently own about 40 registered Suffolk ewes. The majority still trace to the first ewe that I purchased in 1984. What has your involvement been with the Suffolk Association(s) and the sheep industry? In addition to serving on the Suffolk board, I am also a director on the board of the Indiana Sheep Association and the Indiana Sheep and Wool Council. This is my second year as a member of the Suffolk breed
2021 SUFFOLK ONLINE SALES April 19 – Suffolk Futurity Ewe Lamb Sale, Showstockplanet.com, Entry Deadline: April 4 April 26 – USSA Online Sale, Showstock- planet.com, Entry Deadline: April 11 April 27 – Equipment Consignment Sale, showstockplanet.com, Entry Deadline: April 11 May 2 – Semen Sale/Foundation Fundraiser Online Auction, wlivestock.com May 24 – USSA Online Sale, integritylive- stocksales.com, Entry Deadline: May 9 Oct 25 – USSA Bred Ewe & Ewe Lamb Sale, integritylivestocksales.com, Entry Deadline: Oct 10 For entry info visit suffolks.org
YOU'RE INVITED TO ATTEND
Suffolk U
WEBINAR SERIES
YOUTH EDITION: Showmanship EVAN SNYDER, FARM MANAGER, MACCAULEY SUFFOLKS
MAY 11, 2021, 7PM CENTRAL Flock Forward: Utilizing Flock54 & the camera grading system to measure carcass performance traits. KARISSA ISSACS, DIRECTOR OF PRODUCER RESOURCES, SUPERIOR FARMS JULY 20, 2021, 7PM CENTRAL A Practical Approach to Common Sheep Diseases CINDYWOLF, DVM, WOLF VETERINARY SERVICES SEPTEMBER 28, 2021, 7PM CENTRAL
Rams & Profitability: A Panel Discussion GREG AHART, MODERATOR
DECEMBER 7, 2021, 7PM CENTRAL
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Archived Webinars on our Website Breeding & Market Animal Selection Pre-Breeding Nutrition & Ewe Flock Mgmt Parasite Resistance & Susceptibility Enterprise Analysis Lambing Basics Direct Meat Marketing
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Sheep Reproduction 101 How Can NSIP Add $ to my Suffolk Flock? Social Media & My Flock Technology & Your Flock: Barn Cameras Nutrition: Late Gestation & Lactation
Information will be posted to the USSA website, Facebook & Newsletter approximately 2 weeks before each webinar on how to connect. Contact the USSA Office for more details.
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