The best of Irish Suffolk Sheep showcased at Ratheniska
Members of the Suffolk Sheep Society welcome Barrie Turner, incoming CEO of Suffolk Sheep Society UK to the stand
The National Ploughing Championships returned after an absence of three years due to the pandemic and Suffolk Sheep Society – South of Ireland were delighted to once again be a part of such a great event.
Situated just inside the door of the NSBA Pavillion, the stand drew a huge amount of attention from attendees. Live Sheep are always popular and the stand showcased the best of Irish Suffolk Sheep breeding with both Pedigree and cross bred sheep on display. The Shearling Pedigree Ram, Muff Paddy, bred by his namesake, Paddy Carolan of Muff Suffolks was hugely popular with visitors to the stand – young and old alike. He was greatly admired and made impressive viewing on the stand.
The Society would like to express our gratitude to the Borris Ewe Breeders Association for loaning the Suffolk/Cheviot Cross ewes for the display. They were a great example of the superb breeding ewes which result from crossing the Irish Suffolk with a Cheviot Ewe. They make superb replacement ewes, who are easily lambed, milky and great mothers, who in turn produce fast finishing lambs ready to hit the premium Spring market at twelve weeks.
Maura Ryan From Borris Ewe Breeders who kindly supplied the Cross-bred Sheep for the standMuff Paddy – Shearling Ram
The hugely popular ‘Guess the Weight of the Lambs’ competition was back and saw an entry of well over 1000 over the three days. These were put in the draw for a €250 Society Voucher towards the price of a Suffolk Ram at any Society sale as well as second and third prizes kindly sponsored by Mayo Healthcare. We would like to thank Cormac Sheep Equipment for providing the scales on which the lambs were weighed on the final day.
Guess the Weight of the Lamb CompetitionStaff from Cormac Tagging who supplied the scales to weigh the lambs and Mayo Healthcare who provided some of the prizes
Overall the Ploughing Championships proved to be a very successful three days for the Suffolk Sheep Society – South of Ireland, allowing us to reacquaint with old friends and meet many new ones. We were delighted to see such a large interest in the breeding of Irish Suffolk Sheep among so many farmers and we look forward to welcoming many of them into the Society in due course. With confidence in the Society at an all time high, the future is looking very bright for Irish Suffolk Sheep.
We are delighted to announce that after a three year absence due to the Pandemic, our National Suffolk Championships will take place at Charleville Agricultural Show, Co Cork on Sunday June 26th.
Classes on the day will include Young Handlers, Shearling Ram & Upwards, Aged Ewe, Shearling Ewe, Novice Lamb – Male or Female, Ram Lamb, Ewe Lamb Trimmed & Ewe Lamb Untrimmed. We are very much looking forward to this prestigious event from our Suffolk Calender and we hope to see you there.
The Suffolk Sheep Society, South of Ireland were delighted to see Mr Arthur O’Keefe of the Annakisha Flock, have his accomplishments and contributions over many years in the Suffolk World acknowledged at the National Hall of Fame Awards which were held in the Sheraton Hotel in Athlone on Sunday May 1st. The National Hall of Fame Awards, Axknowledges people in the Ovine, Equine and Bovine Industries who have contributed over their lifetime to breeding, showing, adjudicating and promoting various breeds. Each breed society nominates a person who in their opinion is deserving of such an award.
The awards on the night were presented by Minister Pippa Hackett, Minister for state for Land Use and Bio Diversity in the Department of Agriculture.
Pippa Hackett Presenting the Award to Arthur O’Keeffe
Arthur O’Keeffe’s name is synonymous with the South of Ireland Branch of the Suffolk Sheep Society for over forty years. During this time Arthur not alone worked hard to improve the Annakisha Suffolk Flock, founded 70 years ago by his late father, but also was actively involved in making the South of Ireland Branch one of the most successful branches in the society while on its committee of which he was chairman for two years.
He was appointed to the Judges Panel of the Suffolk Sheep Society in 1982 and has judged at numerous shows throughout Ireland and the UK including the Royal Highland, Royal Show, Royal Ulster, the National S&S, Edinburgh S&S, the Northern Ireland Branch Premier and the National Flock Competition.
In 2009, Arthur was honoured to be elected President of the Suffolk Sheep Society covering England, Scotland and Wales as well as the island of Ireland. His presidency saw him travel to all of the branches in these countries and he had the honour of judging the National Flock Competition of Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales.
While dairying is the main farm enterprise Arthur has had a keen interest in the Suffolk breed since childhood. He believes that the Suffolk’s ability to reach target weights in a shorter time frame combined with good fleshing ability makes them the ideal sire for the commercial flock. The Suffolks also enjoy greater length than most of their counterparts while in recent years the Suffolk x ewe is in great demand for breeding and also commands a premium price from the butcher.
The Annakisha Flock has consistently enjoyed great success in both the show and sales ring. While Arthur was fortunate to win the Supreme champion on 10 occasions at the RDS/National Championships and Female of the Year 7 times, he places great emphasis on the local shows as he feels that they are a great shop window to promote the breed and encourages all breeders to participate. At the Premier Show and Sale he has successfully claimed the championship 5 times while taking Reserve Champion 8 times selling to all corners of Ireland, UK and Europe. In recent years he has seen a large number of his Suffolk ewes and rams being exported to Europe and believes that this is testament to the high standard of sheep attained by the South of Ireland Branch members.
Arthur would like to thank the committee of the South of Ireland Branch of the Suffolk Sheep Society for nominating him to receive the Hall of Fame Award and also his family who have helped and supported him through the years.
Our flockbook is now hosted on the Sheep Ireland database and provides you with your online flockbook account to view the current animals located in your flock. You can now use your online account to record the information required by the breed society throughout the year – i.e., mating, lambing, animal movements etc. You can also request pedigree registrations and animal genotypes via the account. Several helpful flock management reports for your flock are also available. There is a HELP button at the top of most pages with instructions and guidance on how the page works.
How to Log in
To access your online account go to www.sheep.ie and click ‘Online Services’. Enter your personal department flock designator as your username (IE04 followed by 5 digits – IE0412345). If logging in for the first time, you will need to create your own password. To do this, click on the ‘forgot password’ link which you will find on the online services page. This will send an email to the email address attached to your flocks account (if you did not include an email on your application to the society you will not be able to access your online account, (Please contact the South of Ireland office directly to correct this).
Follow the simple instructions on this email to create your password.
First steps once you get logged in
Please check your flock inventory once you log in. It is crucial that this inventory is accurate and kept up to date. If new sheep need to be added, you can do so by using the ‘Add Animal’ function under the ‘Inventory’ tab on your account. Contact the society if you have any issues adding sheep. If sheep have been sold or have died, please record this information accurately in a timely fashion using the animal sales screen or the death tab. Every effort was made to ensure a smooth transition of the Suffolk Sheep Society – South of Ireland Flockbook onto the Sheep Ireland database, however if you see something inaccurate please contact the SOI office directly and we will correct it as soon as possible.
Record your ewes recent pregnancy scan results, including your barrens
Order a genotype for your stock ram/s. This is compulsory. You can also genomically test any other animal in your flock if you so wish.
NB: ALL STOCK RAMS MUST BE GENOTYPED INCLUDING RAMS USED IN 2021
Add your 2022 lambs as soon after birth as possible, by clicking on ‘Lambing Management’ located under the ‘Management’ option on your account.
Make recording your lambing even easier!
Download the Sheep Ireland app to your phone and record your lambing data as it happens. Our LambPlus members have found this app extremely user friendly and efficient.
We strongly encourage all society members to join the LambPlus performance recording programme. To continue and increase the rate of genetic gain in our breed, we must collect as much data as possible on our breed. There are also many perks, such as subsidised genotyping costs and access to the LambPlus customer care team.
PLEASE NOTE: If you are considering joining the LambPlus Program, Sheep Ireland have extended the online application deadline for the LambPlus 2022 season for Suffolk members until 24th January 2022
You will see a yellow banner appear on your homepage when you log into your Sheep Ireland account and you can simply sign up there. Alternatively, call their office on 023 88 20 451 to discuss what’s involved or email query@sheep.ie to express your interest in joining. Sheep Ireland will be closed over the Christmas period and will re-open again on Tues 4th Jan.” Please bear with us as we transition from the Grassroots system into the new Flockbook system on the Sheep Ireland system. Inevitable there will be some queries and adjustments to be made.
If you have any queries, please contact the Suffolk Sheep Society – South of Ireland Branch office directly either by phone on 083 0907313 or via email at enquiries@irishsuffolksheep.org
