Reference Sires
We have used many rams over the years. The ones that have had the biggest impact on our flock in a positive direction are listed below. The theme of our ram selection over the years has been for thick, meaty suffolks. We pay close attention to balancing many traits when we evaluate which thick and meaty rams to use… prioritizing structural correctness, strong maternal traits, longevity, and docility. We try to maintain these traits at optimal levels rather than selecting for any one extreme. We aim to piece together pedigrees that will give us and our customers uniform, reliable, and balanced results with each lamb crop.
“Scout” Auville 1430A
We used Scout heavily for 7 years early on when we were really starting to expand the purebred Suffolk portion of our flock. We retained many of his daughters that have proven to be robust, balanced, trouble-free, long-lasting brood ewes. Scout’s pedigree is deep in Kimm, Slack, VA Tech and Meadows bloodlines.
“Teton” Kimm 13149
We wanted to get a ram from the heart of the Kimm flock which is noted for balanced genetics with stats to prove potential for growth and muscling. The Kimm flock has also been noted for longevity and maternal traits. Teton was our pick of the 2013 Kimm lambs. Both his sire and dam go back to Kimm 7012 and Meadows 5211. Teton produced heavy-duty lambs and his daughters are incredible milkers and calm mothers. His 60 day adjusted weight was 97 lbs and his 135 lb. REA was 3.81
“Doc” Kimm 13103
We hauled Doc back to VA from the Kimm 2013 Production Sale for a friend and neighbor veterinarian, Doctor Justin Hill. He generously let us use him for the first half of the 2013 breeding season. Doc was one of triplet sons out of the notable Kimm 4081 ewe that lived to be 14 years of age. The Doc daughters have been some of the foundation ewes in our flock over the years… very reliable in the lambing barn, long-lasting and trouble free. In 2023 we have 4 of his daughters raising lambs at 10 years of age.
“Arnold” Mint Gold 3007
We leased Arnold from VA Tech for early January lambs after seeing his impressive group of sons at the VA Ram Test facility. Arnold was the #1 NSIP ram for muscle scan at one point. His pedigree contains muscle sheep from top to bottom.
“Stonewall” Kimm 15550
Tony and Laura Leal purchased Stonewall as a proven ram from Bob Kimm in his 2017 production sale. They generously let us use him for December and early January lambs that year in exchange for hauling him. We retained many of his daughters that tend to be stout, prolific, easy-keeping brood ewes with plenty of milk. Doc, Stonewall, and the Kimm 15286 ram that shows up in Timberline’s pedigree, are all sons of Bob Kimm’s remarkable 4081 ewe that reached 14 years of age and was noted for being extremely productive.
“Leo” MacCauley 2752
We were looking far and wide for a ram that was as thick as he was tall. So when we heard Leo was for sale as a proven ram from MacCauleys of PA, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity. He was really big boned like his sire, Mighty Mo, and very correct on his big feet and legs with good breed character.
“Cobalt” Season’s Bounty 8051
Cobalt was our pick of the home raised Arnold sons in 2018. He grew quickly with great length, and he had one of the best muscle scans that year. He is from the 1056 ewe family that has also given us the home-raised rams Sycamore and George. We put Cobalt in our 2019 production sale. He was selected by Vaughn Plemmons of North Carolina to go to work in his commercial Katahdin flock.
“Upside” Season’s Bounty 9036
Upside is a home-raised son of Hickory from 2019. His mother is straight Slack breeding, being the result of a bred ewe we purchased from Tom Slack in 2014. We used him on 60 replacement ewe lambs for March and April lambs in 2020, and used him heavy for 2021 lambs. He is very correct on his feet, thick topped, full of muscle and very well balanced.