High Road Sheep

Scottish style grass type sheep

Pictured at left is Highland Chieftain, as a yearling after topping the Virginia Ram Lamb Performance Test sale. He gained 1 lb. per day on test and exemplified the kind we strive to produce. We did not let him go, but retained him as a foundation sire. Medium frame, big bodied with girth and capacity to utilize forage, with authentic breed type, bone and muscle expression. His daughters were most of our early foundation flock, and were milky, prolific, and long lived.

We wish to maintain the Scottish style sheep, to retain the traits that have kept this breed in Scotland at the forefront of functional performance sheep with maternal value and carcass merit.

We have several customers who run total grass operations, lambing on grass in April, and selling the lambs off grass in the fall, with virtually no feed bill except some hay when it snows. Obviously for this to work, the sheep need to be the kind that can do it, and that is where the North Country comes in.

The fact that there will be semen imported from 8 new Scottish rams in the fall of 2022 provides the North Country breeder a great opportunity for a genetic recharge, which is long overdue.

Check our "SHEEP FOR SALE" pages for pictures and info on the import rams

HIGH ROAD 0085

Supreme ram, WV Sale. 2012

U.S breed record at $2000

Sold to Terry and Cindy Woods, Criders,VA

Pictured with buyers and handler Joe Walker.

He sired TANK, a great stud ram for us, and "BIG DADDY', Reserve National champion for Susan Davies, Maryland. 0085 was the youngest ram at the VA ram test 2011 , and failed to pass semen test to sell.

Things got better.

HIGHLAND TROOPER

Born 2013 yearling picture

Heavy Scottish influence, sired by Littledale B204 out of dam by AHF 3558.

Longtime stud ram still going strong.

We took him to the WV Sale as a yearling, to let people see him.

He brought $900. We thought him worth much more, so he has been at home ever since.

Highland Traveler. Tank son sold to Dee Samson in Oregon, and bought back in 2019. Current stud ram.

HIGHLAND TRAVELER High Road 414

Tank son sold to Dee Samson in Oregon, bought back in 2019. Sired by TANK, from his only lamb crop. This ram sired a daughter for Dee Samson that produced thechampion NCC market lamb at the 2022 Indiana StateFair.

BENNETT 6

Foundation ewe purchased at the 2008 National Sale, with her son Highland Piper, sire of High Road 0085, the $2000 ram

AHF 2558, Reserve National Champion ram 2006. Bred by Arrowhead Farm ,Oregon. Owned with Ron Fletcher,WV. Foundation sire, Sire of Highland Piper, Highland Banner, and Highland Chieftain, among others.

TANK

Son of High Road 0085 out of a Highland Chieftain dam. Our favorite of the stud rams, sadly died young in an accident.

HIGHLAND PIPER.

Son of AHF 2558 out of Bennettt 6, he sired the $2000 High Road 0085.

Highland Piper was a full brother to Highland Banner below.

TANK JR

Stud ram two seasons. Sired by TANK, we bred him. He was born property of Mike Maloy in Highland County to whom we sold foundation ewes. Most of his daughters sold to the DeWitts in Minnesota.

HIGHLAND CHIEFTAIN

By AHF 2558, he topped the Virginia ram test sale where we bought him back for a stud ram since we knew of none we liked better at the time. His daughters were our foundation.

HIGLAND BANNER

Full brother to Highland Piper, by AHF 2558 out of Bennett 6, he sold to Ron Fletcher. As good a sheep as we ever bred, pictured as a lamb.

HIGHLAND PATROL

Champion North Country ram, West Virginia sale.

Sire: Hammer. With Spencer McCoy and Dalton Walker.

Sold to Terry Woods, who has been a great supporter of our program.

TANK son of High Road 0085 from a Highland Chieftain dam. Probably the most popular stud ram we e

TANK (MF 0002)

Sired by High Road 0085, a tremendous sheep and our most popular stud ram,

We showed him as a yearling and he stood last in class, Imagine that.

HIGHLAND TROOPER Sire: Littledale B204 dam by AHF 2558

Brought $900 at Petersburg but we kept him.

Scottish style powerhouse. We have several pictures of him as you may notice.

HAMMER

Bred by Kenny Hammer, McGaheysville, VA, used early in the program with success. See his sons Highland King and Highland Patrol below.

LITTLEDALE B204

Heavy Scottish influence from the Philipsons in Wisconsin. The plan was to keep his best son which was clearly Highland Trooper.

BENNETT 6

purchased at the National Sale,2008.

She produced Highland Banner, Highland Piper and several top daughters.

HIGHLAND KING

born 2009

Sire: Hammer. Sold to WV

as lamb. Repurchased.

Sold to Tennessee. Repurchased - sent to

Bruce and Robin DeWitt. Minnesota, aged 8. Sired 2 lamb crops in MN.

AHF 2558

Foundation stud ram.

Owned with Ron Fletcher, Cabin Run Farm WV.

Reserve Natinal Champion 2006,

From Arrowhead Farm, Oregon

HIGHLAND PATROL

Champion NCC WV Sale

Sire: Hammer

One of the high sellers

Sold to Terry Woods, Criders,vA

Champion NCC female WV

With judge Dick Simancik, Macqueen, Spencer McCoy, Dalton Walker. We did not sell her.

Champion NCC female pictred on left at WV sale.

I considered her the ideal NCC ewe.

Yearling Ram, Reserve Champion and breed high seller at $800, WV sale 2018. Bred by Dee Samson in Oregon, son of High Road 414, a ram we bought back from her in 2019, pictured above.

NORTH COUNTRY CHEVIOT x SUFFOLK RAM

I WANTED TO INCLUDE HIS PICTURE TO ILLUSTRATE WHAT A REAL COMMERCIAL RAM SHOULD LOOK LIKE IN MY OPINION.. BIG AND BOLD, WORLDS OF SCALE, CAPACITY AND LENGTH OF RIB AND LOIN. SOUNDNESS OF FEET AND LEGS, MUSCLE SHAPE AND RETAIL PRODUCT.

HE IS A SON OF 0085, THE $2000 RAM.

TERRY HAS NEVER SEEN HIM- HE MAY THINK THE SHEEP IS A FIGMENT OF MY IMAGINATION, BUT HE'LL KNOW A GOOD ONE WHEN HE SEES HIM.

THIS POWERFUL RAM IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF WHAT NORTH COUNTRY SHEEP CAN DO IN A COMMERCIAL APPLICATION. A LOT OF FOLKS HAVE NEVER SEEN ANY NCC CROSSBREDS. THE SUFFOLK CROSSES ARE MY FAVORITE, BUT THERE ARE SEVERAL OTHER CROSSES THAT ARE USEFUL, PRODUCTIVE AND ATTRACTIVE IN PATTERN. WE SELL A NUMBER OF RAMS TO HAIR SHEEP FLOCKS TO ADD SOME HYBRID VIGOR AND CARCASS VALUE AS A TERMINAL SIRE. (See rear view below)

FOR SURE ONE OF MY FAVORITE SHEEP. I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE A FLOCK OF NCC X SUFFOLK EWES IF THERE WAS ROOM. I IHAVE SOLD MANY OF THEM, ONE OF MY CUSTOMERS BOUGHT EVERY CROSSGRED EWE LAMB I HAD FOR A FEW YEARS. HE ASKED ME WHAT TO MATE THEM TO. I SUGGESTED HE COULD USE A CROSSBRED RAM BRED THE SAME WAY, THEN ALL HIS LAMBS WOULD BE HALFBREEDS. HE WAS BUILDING A FINE FLOCK WHEN HIS CHURCH CALLED HIM AND FAMILY TO EMBARK ON A MISSION TRIP TO ZIMBABWE FOR TWO YEARS. HE HAD TO SELL HIS FLOCK, BUT I EXPECT HE WILL RESUME HIS PROGRAM WHEN HE RETURNS FROM HIS AFRICAN ADVENTURE.

Two 50% NCC x Suffolk rams , part of our string that topped the performance numbers at the VA ram test

Powerful crossbred ewe with lambs by Suffolk I would love to have a whole flock of sheep like her if we had room.

Ram also pictured far left. The day he was born, I told Julie he would top the VA ram test. Wrong, he was second high seller overall.

50% crossbred lamb.

This is my idea of what a meat sheep should look like

Crossbred yearling ewes. This combination works great as market lambs, commercial ewes or meat rams to put more carcass in Hair ewes.

I'll go first, watch this

LOT 30 MACCAULEY ONLINE SALE $3750.

January ewe lamb sired by High Roller out of High Road 557, the"Super Ewe".

One of the lambs from the ewes we sold MacCauley. This lamb was the second high seller. The other 3 High Road bred lambs sold for $1500, $900 and $900, all January lambs, just 3 months old, all sired by High Roller.

Thanks to MacCauley Suffolks for giving our sheep a chance to make a splash.

UPDATE 4/25/21

5 LAMBS FROM OUR SUFFOLK EWES SOLD TO MacCAULEY SUFFOLKS HAVE AVERAGED $1880 IN 2 MacCAULEY SALES.

HIGH ROLLER - VA Tech W 332 yearling photo.

OUR LAST SUFFOLK STUD RAM

$1750 TOP 2018 VA TECH PRODUCTION SALE

Sire : MInt Gold Ranch 3007

Formerly Breed Leader, Loin Muscle Depth

Dam by MacCauley 2407 by URL 645.

URL 645 was by the great U.K.Stockton 95.

This ram epitomizes the big volume, massive, strong boned kind we want our sheep to look like. He sired both the top gaining and high WDA rams at the Virginia ram test 2019.

Sold to Doren Shifley, Greensburg, Kentucky who was runner up bidder, and asked for first option if we ever sold him.

"HACKSAW"

Sire MacCauley 2612

Retained as junior sire.

Full brother to VA ram test $1500 sale topper

Sold to Carl Hevener, Franklin, WV. Repeat buyer.

MacCAULEY 2612

Stud ram owned with Joe Emenheiser and Dalton Bennett.

British genetics. Grandson of Stockton Supersire 95

222

Sire: MacCauley 2612

Sold at VA ram test.

We thought him the best Suffolk ram we ever bred. He looks just like his sire (on left)

High Road 557

"The Super Ewe."

MacCauley 2612 daughter, now in the MacCauley flock. I think the best Suffolk ewe I ever saw. Her daughter, 3 months old sold for $3750 at MacCauley Online sale

Supreme Ewe, Junior Show W. Virginia State Fair 2018 2612 daughter

sold at WV sale to Ethan Legget, Gilmer County, shown above on right.

EMENHEISER 1P

Stud ram A.I. sired by Canadian ram Kilannan 1P, out of Emenheiser owned Mint Gold ewe.

U.K. genetics from sire.

Sold to New York state after two lamb crops.

THE HIGH ROAD SUFFOLK STORY

I had for long watched the Suffolk breed evolve in a direction I was not inclined to follow, and determined that we should seek sheep with moderate frame, incorporating girth and muscling with the capacity to thrive on grass and maintain good condition. I felt that incorporating British genetics might sooner generate the kind we sought.

We founded our Suffolk flock in 2008 with the purchase of 20 ewe lambs from John Scott in West Virginia. We greatly appreciate John parting with some fine foundation sheep, plus providing us with a wealth of sound advice and counsel thereafter.

We bought the largest loin score ram in his crop in Wisconsin, Mint Gold Ranch 9016, and kept several daughters. I had gained another wise counselor, especially on Suffolk matters. Joe Emenheiser was finishing his PhD at Virginia Tech and was very well informed regarding the British genetics. In order to get a start, I bought some Canadian semen from Kilannan 1P, featuring a good dose of U.K. blood from Stockton Supersire 95, the most valued of the British sires, and a Scottish ram Carness Firecracker. Our A.I venture provided poor conception but we did get a stud ram out of it, Emenheiser 1P, out of a Mint Gold ewe belongig to Joe. 1P sired several fine daughters, that really clicked with our next British influenced sire, MacCauley 2612, a grandson of Stockton 95, that we shared with Joe along with Dalton Bennett who was putting a flock together. Joe named us "The Virginia Suffolk Syndicate" , though we were not quite as sinister as that sounded

The 2612 ram produced the goods, and we soon had a string of strong rams annually at the Virginia ram test. We topped the sale at $1500 in 2015 with a 2612 son out of a 1P dam, the combination that consistently worked.

By 2018, 2612 was getting old and we needed another ram. Virginia Tech had a ram in their fall sale that looked interesting. Good numbers, out of a dam sired by a 2612 half brother 2407, and sired by Mint Gold 3007, breed leader in loin depth in his day. Julie and I drove to the sale, and when I walked into the pen, my jaw went slack- what a ram!

Julie had my back,

"If you think he's that good, why don't we buy him?"

"He'll bring a pile of money, " I warned, but we bit the bullet to the tune of $1750. We have not regretted buying him, a powerhouse of a sheep. His first sons topped both ADG and WDA at the 2019 VA am performance test. His second lamb crop wound up in Pennsylvania as will shortly be outlined. We thought the Tech ram needed a nickname like the big time outfits do it, so he became "High Roller".

A few changes led to our reluctant decision to sell the Suffolk flock. First and worst, the coyotes were slaying so many lambs, thanks in part to the fact that I had not maintained our guard dog battery sufficiently.

Next, we were liable to lose the main grass where our sheep run, due to the need for more hay ground. Thirdly, I had to face the fact that our sheep operation might be more than I could properly handle at almost 80 years old. Maybe it was time to fold my tent. I thought the Suffoks should be pretty saleable bred to a ram like "High Roller".

I sold a few ewes at auction, then offered the rest on the Suffolk Association website, via a video. Bill MacCauley called me the day the video went up via eblast, and bought them. Naturally we were pleased to sell them to such a reputation program, and feel like the sheep are now in a place where they will have every opportunity to make their mark.

(As it happened, we did not have long to wait. April 26 brought MacCauley's online sale. 4 of the January lambs from our ewes were included. They averaged $1500, with the lot 30 lamb bringing $3750, the second high sale price. All four lambs were by HIGH ROLLER).

I will miss the Suffolks, enjoyed their company, and feel that we produced our fair share of good ones even if I often felt they were not appreciated or I was badly barn blind. For the first time in ten years, I did not have to spend the winter running to the sheep barn to take care of the lambs. I also have another inconvenience to deal with - the fact that I have no driver's license after dark because of my poor eyesight. As a result my long suffering wife had to drive me to the sheep before bedtime to check on the babies. (If I had an accident driving after dark, I would likely lose my license even if what happened was not my fault.)

One parting comment is in order. I think that Amanda, the secretary of the Suffolk Association is great! I have never met her , but enjoyed our many phone conversations, and have never dealt with anyone in her line of work so accommodating and agreeable.

The Right Kind

Pictured above are some of the Suffolk ewes taken a few years ago. I think they illustrate the kind we like, with uniformity of pattern , bone, symmetry and breed type. If we accuse many U.S. Suffolks of being excessive in dimension, some of the U.K. models tend to the other extreme and may be somewhat "tight wound". We were seeking a practical blend of the two, keeping our distance from extremes in either direction, which I have sought to avoid in all our livestock ventures, bovine, ovine, or canine.

I have always appreciated that the real Master Breeder, Mother Nature values uniformity and function too.

Find out more

HIGH ROAD SHEEP

North Country Cheviots

Scottish style grass type sheep

Check our "SHEEP FOR SALE" pages for pictures and info on the import rams

The Crossbreeding option

NORTH COUNTRY CHEVIOT x SUFFOLK RAM

HIGH ROAD SUFFOLKS

THE HIGH ROAD SUFFOLK STORY

The Right Kind