Hadleigh: Suffolk sheep flock’s shear class wins over German buyer

GERMAN buyers scouring the UK in search of the best breeding sheep found their search at an end when they visited a farm in Suffolk.

A small group of pedigree Suffolk Sheep comprising three rams and one ewe from the pedigree sheep farm at Kersey, near Hadleigh, have now been exported to the Niedersachsen region of Northern Germany.

The German buyers toured the country in search of suitable breeding stock and eventually selected the sheep from the Kersey Flock which has been run by the Partridge family since it was established in 1927.

It’s thought to be one of the oldest pedigree flocks in the country.

“The Germans were looking for performance recorded Suffolk Sheep with good confirmation, tight skins and not too much bone - just our type,” said Chris.

After blood tests, veterinary inspections and paperwork were completed the sheep eventually left in early August arriving in Germany in time for the new breeding season.

It is thought to be the first export of stock from the Kersey Flock in its 84 year history.

John Partridge set up the ‘Harts Flock’ in 1947. Chris took over the running of the flock when John died in 1982. The two flocks were run on neighbouring farms until 1999 when the chance came to merge them.

At one time, Chris’s father had more than 250 breeding ewes, but there has since been a decline in sheep farming in the Eastern counties.

The current flock of just over 100 ewes is said to be the largest flock of pedigree Suffolk sheep in the region.