Breeds we manage on an Agency Basis

We took over both the UK alpaca registries in 2003 and helped to manage the merger to create the British Alpaca Society registry. It is now used by over 1,600 owners and breeders throughout the UK and Europe and contains the pedigree details of over 72,000 animals. We also manage the membership database, book keeping and all the administration involved in show entries, cataloguing and publication of show results.

We took over running the Jacob Sheep Society registry and membership database in 2012 and work closely with the regional representatives and the committee.  This is a particularly friendly society with over 850 members and some 3,000 new registrations each year.

We have run the Combined Flock Book on behalf of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) since 2001.

It is an umbrella registry for eight very different sheep breeds, the Boreray, Castlemilk Moorit, North Ronaldsay, Manx Loagtan and Soay which are primitive, naturally coloured, short tailed breeds and the Portland, Norfolk Horn and Whitefaced Woodland which are historic ‘heath and hill’ breeds.  

We work with the over 800 farmers who keep these breeds, and do a detailed annual survey of which sheep are still alive each year in addition to providing our normal registry services and breeding advice based on the ‘kinship’  or the degree of relationship between potential breeding groups. 

In 2009 when the Blue Texel Sheep Society asked us to run their registry they had less than 100 members.  Growing rapidly in popularity they have over 900 members today.  We manage their registry, membership database and book keeping.

This breed was imported into the UK in 2015 from Switzerland.  Grassroots established an independent registry as a service to all owners and breeders of this internationally rare breed until such time as a single Breed Society could be formed.

In 2021, the breeders came together to form a single Society and Grassroots passed responsibility for, and ownership of the registry to that Society.  Grassroots continue to run the registry on their behalf.

Grassroots took on the management of the Charmoise breed registry in August 2021, with less than 20 members, but anticipate a rapid improvement in their fortunes in the UK.

Grassroots took on the management of 3 numerically small cattle breeds in 2023 - Albion, British Parthenais and Vaynol

Grassroots took on management of the Ouessant Sheep breed registry in February 2024.

Grassroots took on management of the British Huntaway Working Dogs registry in January 2024.

The BPA have use the Grassroots system since 2003 to manage their 15 breeds.  In 2023 we took on the daily management, initially on a temporary basis.  This arrangement has now been made permanent.