Seedstock Breeder of the Year Shares Farming Insights

Linda Williams
Southwestern Pa. Correspondent

BREEZEWOOD, Pa. — Sam and Sherrill Wylie received the Seedstock Breeder of the Year award at the annual Cattleman’s Banquet, held March 27 at State College. The award followed closely to winning the Pennsylvania Angus Association award at the annual Pennsylvania Angus Banquet during Farm Show week. The Wylies were also recently added to the Tallgrass Beef Company Preferred Genetics list.

“I’ve been in this business a long time and I have a basement full of trophies and ribbons,” said Wylie. “Only problem is, you can’t eat them and you can’t sell them. You can’t even trade them for gas.” Wiley is a third generation Angus breeder from Chester County.

Today, instead of raising Angus cattle to compete in fairs and shows, Wiley concentrates on raising a herd that will pay the bills.

In 1990, Wylie realized he had to find cheaper land for his herd. That spot was on a back road near Breezewood, the perfect location for Octoraro Angus.

He also met his wife, Sherrill, who has always been involved, in one way or another, with cattle.They were married in 1996.

Wylie said he farms by the “Holistic Resource Management” method. “Cows can pretty much live off solar energy,” he explained. “If you raise a tough herd, they need only grass.They provide their own fertilizer. The job description for raising good Angus cattle has not really changed since my grandad’s time.”

“Corn,” he explained “is not environmentally friendly. Every bushel of corn requires more than two gallons of crude oil, while a bovine relies on only grass with minimal equipment and fuel needed to make hay.”

His more then 225 head of sturdy Black Angus graze year-round on the grassy hillsides supplemented by some hay in the winter. Woods offer shelter during the winter months. The Angus fertilize their own pasture and reproduce themselves through carefully engineered breeding.

The breeding is based on pure foundation bloodlines seeking traits such as maternal efficiency and longevity.

When first arriving in Bedford County, Wiley got involved in trimming hooves for area dairies. “I saw where farmers were getting it all wrong,” he said. “They were bringing the cows in on concrete which caused a need for the hoof trimming. Those hooves are natural cultivators and that is exactly what my Angus do. They cultivate their own land.”

Wiley started his beef cattle career as a hired hand. “It’s a good place to come from, but not something I want to go back to,” he said.

With the increased cost of energy, Wiley began to look for simpler methods of farming. “Shipping a cow across the country can cost a fortune,” he explained.

“Shipping the semen is fairly inexpensive. Some of the semen Wylie keeps on liquid nitrogen is worth $10,000.” It has become a profitable niche for Octoraro Angus.

Another income source is the 100 plus frozen embryos he ships a year. Recent years has seen several embryos sell for over $4,000 with an average of $750 per embryo during the annual sale in November.

“I have two goals,” he said. “One is to preserve the maternal goodness of the Angus breed as I know it. The other is to mentor the next generation of back to basic breeders.”

Studying the genetics of his herd, Wylie realizes inbreeding is too tight; but constructive line works. “You can find the history of line breeding in the book of Genesis,” he said. “It worked then, it works now.”

A plus on his side is that grass finished beef is a hot subject today. “Some of these health conscious groups want only grass-fed beef and that is what I offer.” It doesn’t matter if he is selling meat, embryos or semen, it all stems from grass-fed animals.

Wylie does cut his own hay. “I can do that rather cheaply,” he said. “I rent a number of acres from a neighbor at a reasonable cost.” The Wylie farm totals 153 acres with an additional 270 rented.

He owns a chain harrow to drag through the cow fertilized pasture for nutrient recycling to produce perfect feed for the cattle. The cows snack on mineral salts which kill the flies in the manure.

The main Octoraro herd calves in April or May with few birthing problems.
The electric fence, which keeps the herd contained in whatever pastures Wylie chooses, is solar powered.

Each November, the Wylies sponsor a Genetic Seed Saver Sale where they offer cattle, embryos and semen from their sturdy stock of pure, breeder-type Angus.