Kimm Suffolks - Home of Balanced Genetics

Prior to his retirement in 2000, Bob served as the beef and sheep specialist at Hawkeye Community College for thirty-one years. During that time he establish numerous youth and adult activities: shows, sales, judging teams, travel seminars, 4-H lamb tests, hall of breeds, and one of the first adult lamb and wool programs in the state of Iowa, serving the northeast quadrant of Iowa. One of the most exciting and rewarding activities, which he is proud to announce is still being carried out by the ICA, would be a beef scholarship extravaganza, which he developed while still at Hawkeye. This program is for high school youth who are college bound and offers over $15,000 in scholarship monies to the top twenty-four successful recipients participating in the all day competition. Teams of three youth work through ten different disciplines at various stations ranging from reproduction, nutrition, marketing to bank loan applications and job interviews. This event is currently held during the Iowa Cattlemen Association’s summer conference now held during the third week of June each year in Ames, IA. Open to youth from around the US, anyone interested to receive additional information about this unique scholarship program should contact: Michelle Baumhover, ICA, 2055 Ironwood Court, Ames, IA 50010. Phone 515-296-2304 ext. 230, or you can reach her at: [email protected]

Bob has always worked to improve the performance and carcass traits for the lamb industry. Participating in the National Lamb Show from the early seventies through the mid eighties and then reinstating this program in 2001 at Hawkeye Community College. Today, the NLS is held at South Dakota State Univ, under the direction of Rob Zelinsky, Sheep Unit Mgn. There is both an adult and junior division currently for this contest. The normal receiving date for lambs to be delivered to the test site is late March. Lambs officially go on test following a one-week adjustment period and are tested for 63 days. Lambs born in late January or early February, weighing between 45-65 pound are best suited for success. The lambs are harvested at Iowa Lamb Corp, IA. The final ranking is determined by a formula which is equally divided between; rate of gain, feed efficiency and carcass merit (BCTRC). Families interested in participating should contact Rob at 605-693-3808. Bob continues to assist in the recruitment of sponsors for this event plus helps coordinate transportation of lambs from eastern IA and southern MN for delivery in late March. Along this same theme, Bob sponsors the Champion award of $1,000 for the Overall 4-HPerformance Lamb Division (Derby) winner at the Iowa State Fair each year.

Bob has once again become actively involved with the Iowa Junior Breeding Sheep Assoc. He has collectively organized a committee of adults from the Dorset, Hampshire, Southdown, and Suffolk breeds to promote and host an annual show, held the second Saturday in June, Adel, IA. The show is in conjunction with the ISIA’s Sheep and Wool Festival and is designed especially for youth showing breeding sheep. For information on this show or the festival held at Adel, IA, you can go to: www.iowasheep.com When the junior organization was originally established back in the mid eighties, Bob was the advisor and developed a weekend outing for the junior members and their parents to visit leading sheep operations in neighboring states, usually these trips were taken in late October. This is an activity Bob would like to bring back if there was enough interest, so let him hear from those that would like to see the fall trip idea reinstated.

Bob has had the opportunity to judge most of the major market lamb shows in the US. He has also taken several trips to Brazil and Mexico, promoting US Sheep Genetics and judging on behalf of the American Sheep Industry- Seedstock Committee and US Feed Grains Council.

The Kimm’s have also enjoyed hosting students from several countries involved with work-study programs. Should you be a student looking to gain such experience working on a registered Suffolk operation, please contact Bob.

Bob currently is serving on the following boards and committees:

United Suffolk Sheep Association board of directors
Iowa Sheep Industry Association board of directors
Iowa Farm Bureau Sheep Advisory Committee
Iowa State University – Animal Science Dept Adv Committee
Iowa Sheep & Wool Promotion Board