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We, Tom and Betty Drudik, started
raising sheep in 1968 with the purchase of a small flock of
registered Hampshires. Over the following ten years the flock
gradually switched to registered Suffolks and remained that way
until 1989 when the registration papers were discontinued and
more emphasis was placed on meat qualities. By 1997, we
recognized the importance of DNA testing to develop a Scrapie
resistant flock and to monitor the presence of the Spider gene.
In 2001, we purchased ‘Superstar’ (Harms 2001 son) that
continued to move our program forward. We followed a line
breeding program to fix desirable genes for more consistency in
their breeding value. We established the Star Line and the “J”
Line and crossed them to develop Blazing Stars. The Blazing
Stars were mated to “Ace” (a Slack ram) since the more ‘Aces’
you have, the better chance you have of winning.
Genetics of the Flock:
| "STAR"
LINE:
|
Sire
|
Dam
|
DNA |
| Superstar
|
Harms
|
2001 |
RRNN |
| Star Dust
|
Superstar
|
Shell 212
|
RRNN |
| Special D
|
Harms CD
|
Tuff
Daughter
|
RRNN |
| Sundance
|
Millionaire
|
|
RRNN |
| Sunshine
|
Harms 2000
grandson |
|
RRNN |
| XL
|
Harms 2000
|
Wizard
daughter |
|
|
“J” LINE: |
Sire
|
Dam
|
DNA |
| T.J.
|
Knop Captain
|
Omega daughter |
RRNN |
| B.J. |
T.J. |
Star Dust
|
RRNN |
| P.J. |
T.J. |
Superstar
|
RRNN |
| D.J. |
B.J. |
Superstar
|
RRNN |
|
Blazer
|
Marx 36
|
Captain Daughter |
RRNN |
|
ACE:
|
Slack’s
Champion Fall ram at 2006 Midwest Stud Ram Sale
|
RRNN |
In order for our ram customers to be successful, we retain all
top male lambs for rams and sell them as lambs or yearlings. The
top end of the ewe lambs are added to the flock each year which
allows for rapid generation turnover.
Flock numbers have reached 135 females lambing the Spring of
2007, with a major cut back planned for this year. We are
offering for sale a large number of brood ewes and this year’s
lamb crop.
We plan to continue to produce productive, scrapie
resistant/spider gene-free rams and ewes that will raise
competitive club lambs for their owners. The line breeding
program places emphasis on meat quality and quantity for success
in the showring and on the farm production.
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