About the Society
The purpose of the Teeswater Sheep Society is to provide an organization that focuses on allowing breeders to register their sheep, share information and leverage the most current research and technical information being produced by the industry.
It is our belief that the rules and regulations of an association should never hinder a breeder's ability to make good breeding decisions, explore genetic performance and to ensure the long term genetic and commercial value of the Teeswater Sheep. Nor should they force penalize a breeder from accurately reporting issues at the risk of losing the ability to continue to improve and breed out undesired traits.
The Teeswater Sheep Society strives to create an environment of information sharing, collaboration and cooperation that does not incentivize breeders to alter papers, misreport recessive characteristics or ignore otherwise excellent animals because they do not meet strict upgrading guidelines.
It has been our observation that genetics don't respect math, and that many association rules focus on breeding papers, rather than teasing out the phenotypic traits of the animals in front of us. Any breeds success depends on their long-term ability to reproduce that type. That is not to say that standards are not important, they absolutely are, but we believe that comprehensive standards that include a focus on everything from fertility, maternal ability, milking, feed conversion, fleece quality to conformation are more important than a simple generational blood percentage calculation.
If you are interested in working with other like-minded breeders, we encourage you to reach out and learn more. If you believe another association is a better fit for you, then we also encourage you to find your home wherever you are happiest.
We are happy to work with everyone, in whatever capacity or level they wish to participate, and while we may not necessarily agree with all the structure of other organizations, we absolutely respect their right to decide what is best for them.