Suffolk Sheep Society CEO, Barrie Turner’s update to members.
What three months we have had at the Society it has been a bit manic to say the least since my last update! The whole sheep and cattle worlds normal programme of events has been rudely interrupted by the incursion of Bluetongue Virus. It has become all-encompassing as we head for the sale season to try and give the membership every opportunity to sell and buy sheep at our annual sales fixtures. Please be assured that we are doing everything that we can to make the sales as inclusive and least costly with minimal administrative burden as we can.
Suffolk Advantage
I am sure around the events you have spotted our new livery and stand; this has been moved forward by Council as a new initiative to promote the Suffolk Advantage. A phrase that you will have heard me coin endlessly! It is all based on the work that has been done to establish the credentials behind the breed that offer advantages to all parts of the supply chain from behind the farm gate to the consumer’s table. As members you are free to use this information to assist you in selling the stock that you produce throughout the year and earn your living from. The Suffolk Advantage is aimed to give every member of the Society the tools to promote the breed to their existing pedigree breeders, new pedigree breeders and new commercial customers as the switch back to Suffolk genetics continues to gather pace.
NextGen Events
I am buoyed by the support of the Clubs and Branches to promote events to the NextGen and new members to attend workshops in their areas. We have had six events this year so it is gathering pace again and hopefully will continue to do so. Without new breeders and young people being involved with our breed and activities our future is uncertain so thank you to all for organising these.
National Flock Competition 2025
Mickey Walton is well underway with visiting the entrants to the flock competition juggling his time and commitments to fit it all in. No mean feat! However, he is well on with it and we look forward to working through the outcome with him and announcing the 2025 winner in due course.
United Suffolk Sheep Association visit
We had the great pleasure of hosting a visit in the Scottish Borders in June. A party of 28 American Suffolk Breeders toured round farms in that area and visited the Highland Show and all in all they were very impressed with the breeding that they saw over here. They couldn’t believe how many sheep were in fields and the comment from one was that they had seen more sheep on the journey from Edinburgh airport to Peebles than they had in America! A special thank you to our hosts, AB Europe, Glenrath Farms, Roxburgh Mains, Smailhome Mains, Easton Suffolks, Sam Boon from Signet and the team at SRUC for sharing their farms, knowledge and hospitality with the group. We ended up with a demonstration from The Scottish Craft Butchers on what we do with lamb here in the UK to utilise the whole carcass which was amazing and well delivered. To sum it up, they didn’t want to go home!
NSA Regional Events
We have had five NSA sheep events this year and all have been great to attend. It’s great to get involved with the Commercial side of the sheep industry and these events certainly help us engage with the commercial market. My sincere thanks go to the people who gave up their time from the various areas, far too numerous to mention here, to help us make our presence felt. A special thanks to the North of Scotland who organised and manned the stand in my absence due to an extremely full diary. We won second prize breed society stand with our new stand twice at Welsheep and Sheep Southwest. Always the bridesmaid never the bride!!
Show season
Show season kicked off for me at Balmoral and it has been a six-week whirlwind on the road since then. My wee van has clocked up some serious miles but every one of them has paid dividends. It’s the opportunity I get to travel our geographical territory and meet with you all and see what’s working and what’s not, giving me your thoughts on what we are doing is so valuable in shaping the Society going forward. Congratulations to all for taking the time, effort and expense of filling the shop window with quality sheep for all to see.
We are doing very well on the Show circuit again with many breeders having their sheep put up in the various interbreed competitions around the country well done to you all.
Sale season
Sale season is nearly upon us with so many complications this year through the restrictions placed on some but not all because of the Bluetongue virus outbreak. It is an everchanging picture but we are working hard to try and make the Society sales open to all. They are in their current format, but we are working to try and make sure that vendors and purchasers have as simple and easy a way as is possible to attend the sales and transact their annual business to best effect. We must remember that the Society has no control over changes made by government to the legislation during this issue. We can only affect what is within our remit to manage and we must do our best within the legislation that we can to make the most of what is a difficult situation.
Following last year’s success, our National Dinner and Awards will follow the show on Friday 25th July at Shrewsbury Market. It will once again be catered by Snap, Crackle & Pork, please book your tickets now via the Office – Adults £20 and under 16s £10.
Ram Registrations
All rams being used as a Sire must be registered with the Society. A completed ram proforma a DNA sample must be sent to the Office. Fees for ram registrations increase if received after 31st October so don’t delay! You can order the kit via the Office OR I will have a supply at each of the Sales.
I am on the road again from the 7th July so I look forward to seeing you all at the events throughout that time. My sincere thanks go to Anna, Margo and Gill for holding the fort while I am out of the office, I am sure you will agree they do a great job.
Looking forward to seeing you all over the next few weeks.
Barrie Turner, CEO
