Frequently Asked Questions:

What do I need to do to join the Suffolk Sheep Society ?

Firstly, you need to have 2 pedigree Suffolk ewes (the sellers should have given you their A5 pink pedigree certificates. If you haven’t received them, please contact the seller in the first instance). Then all you have to do is fill in an application form to join the Suffolk Sheep Society – click here for application forms. If you are under 26 you will be a NextGen member. Then post these back to the Suffolk Sheep Society Office. Membership applications are opened once a month, and once your Suffolk Sheep Society flock has been opened on our database, you will receive a Membership Pack in the post.

Why do I need to pay by Direct Debit ?

The Suffolk Sheep Society bye-laws (click here for bye-laws) dictate that all new members should sign a direct debit mandate at the time of joining. This mandate is enclosed with the application form. If you change bank details at any time, or need a new mandate for any other reason, please click here for a new one, fill it in and please post back to the Suffolk Sheep Society office at your earliest convenience. We encourage all our members to pay by Direct Debit as the fees are much less expensive (click here for fees schedule) and it is much more efficient for both yourself and for the smooth running of the Office. If you are unable to pay by Direct Debit, we will of course take your circumstances into consideration. Please just contact us at the Suffolk Sheep Society Office and we will be only too glad to help.

My Suffolk lambs have been born! How do I add them to my flock?

You have 2 options. You can log on to the Suffolk Sheep Society Grassroots database at any time with your Flock Code and Password and choose from the menu options top right of the screen. Please click here for the complete Suffolk Sheep Society Grassroots User Manual. When you have entered your lambs, click on submit, and we do the rest ! Alternatively, you can wait for the Birth notification forms, which are posted out to all Suffolk Sheep Society members at the start of February each year. These will have all your ewes listed on the form and spaces to write down the tag numbers of your lambs, their date of birth, sex and so on. At this point you can also fully register your females if you so wish. Any males would need to be DNA tested first. Then you just post the form back to the Suffolk Sheep Society office and we do the rest ! THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING YOUR BIRTH NOTIFICATIONS ONLINE OR FOR RETURNING THE FORM TO THE OFFICE IS 31ST MAY EACH YEAR. After this date you can still birth notify lambs but you will be charged late fees.

How do I tag my Suffolk lambs ?

We do not sell tags from the office, so just obtain these from your local farm supplier. Your tags should have printed on them your EID number ( your UK flock code and the 5-digit number of the sheep) and also your Flock code which is your individual Suffolk Sheep Society identification number, the year of birth and the 5-digit number of the sheep). You can number your sheep how you like, as long as you haven’t used that number before. Eg. UK123456/00001 and ABC:24:00001, 00002 and so on.

How do I manage my Suffolk Sheep flock on Grassroots ?

You can log on to Suffolk Sheep Society Grassroots at any time with your Flock Code and Password and choose from the menu options top right of the screen. Please click here for the complete Suffolk Sheep Society Grassroots User Manual. On Grassroots, you can birth notify and register lambs, register previously birth notified ewes, and mark any animals as Sold or Dead. You can also update your personal details such as name, address, telephone number and so on. Once you hit submit, the Suffolk Sheep Society office will download your requests and process them for you.

I’ve bought a new Suffolk female! How do I add her to my Suffolk Sheep Society flock ?

Whether you’ve bought her from a Suffolk Sheep Society sale, a private sale or privately from a farm, she should come with an A5 pink Suffolk Sheep Society registration certificate (If you don’t have one, please contact the seller or the auctioneer of the sale in the first instance). Please either scan a photo of the certificate and email it to the Suffolk Sheep Society office along with your own name and flock code, or else post it to us in the office and we will transfer her to your Suffolk Sheep flock. You can not transfer any ewe into your flock online.

How do I register a ram ?

​Whether you have bought a birth-notified ram from a sale or if you have bought the ram privately, or even if this is a home-bred ram, all rams need to be DNA tested before they can be registered into the Suffolk Sheep Society flockbook. To do this, please request a DNA kit (it is a simple nasal swab which you can do yourself) from the Suffolk Sheep Society office. The kit will be sent to you along with a submission form and a proforma. If the ram has been bought privately, the breeder should sign the proforma. If you can obtain a signed proforma at the time of buying, or if you need to give one to someone else, please click here to download a blank proforma. Please send the completed form and nasal swab back to the Suffolk Sheep Society office and we will do the rest! PLEASE REMEMBER TO GIVE YOUR RAM A NAME. Rams can have any name you like as long as it has never been used with the breeder’s prefix before. You can check ram names online or call the Suffolk Sheep Society office and we can check for you.

How do I enter the Suffolk Sheep Society Sales ?

You can see a list of Suffolk Sheep Society sales, Branch sales etc on our website – please click here for details. Entry forms are usually sent out by the Auctioneers or the Suffolk Sheep Society Branches themselves, rather than through the Office, so please contact the relevant parties for further details and entry requirements.

How do I cancel my Suffolk Sheep Society Membership?

​We do not want to see you go but understand that these things happen. If you need to cancel your membership, please contact the Office, with your Suffolk Sheep Society flock name and flock code, either by phone or email, and we will close your Account on our database. Any invoices that are outstanding will be considered as owing so please ensure that your account balance is cleared before leaving. This will ensure that if you reconsider and wish to rejoin the Suffolk Sheep Society in the future you will have left in good standing.

What do I get for my Suffolk Sheep Society Membership?

​The benefits of being a member of the Suffolk Sheep Society are many fold. The Society is a national and international network of people and organisations that can help you succeed with your Suffolk Sheep Society flock. The Suffolk Sheep Society in the UK is the home of the breed and where it was first established before being exported around the globe as a breed that delivers excellence in breeding and meat production. We go to great lengths to preserve the integrity of the flock book, members have access to sales and shows performance recording facilities and most of all membership of a community that believe in the Suffolk Sheep breed. This network is helpful to all our members where the community offers help and advice to ensure that your Suffolk Sheep enterprise is a success. The structure of the Suffolk Sheep Society and how it works can be seen by clicking here.