Third generation Angus breeder Sam Wylie has carved a niche in the competitive world of beef cattle breeding. “I come at it from a different angle than most farmers today,” he said. A Vietnam veteran, Sam followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather working for Angus breeders in Eastern Pennsylvania before starting his own breeding program in Lancaster County - Octoraro Angus. He moved the operation to Bedford County about 15 years ago, seeking a rugged, grassland farm. He found it near Mattie - 153 acres of grassy hillsides and woods ideal for intensive rotational grazing that also provided good cover for winter shelter and was surrounded by neighboring farms where he could make additional hay to help support his 225 head of Angus through the winter. He produces 60 to 100 calves every year through natural cover and artificial insemination.

Wylie’s herd is different - not only because of the way they live - on pasture year-round without supplementation from corn or other concentrates - but because he has based his breeding on foundation bloodlines, seeking traits such as maternal efficiency and long-term soundness that he believes has been lost in many modern breeding programs that emphasize meat production at the expense of other characteristics. “I work to get back to basics,” he said. “We’re raising cattle that thrive in low-input, sustainable, grassland farming. Corn is not like grass - it’s not environmentally friendly. Every bushel of corn requires more than two gallons of crude oil, while a bovine supported with grass uses solar energy.”

His breeding practices have found a niche and his cattle are sought as seed stock by Angus breeders from around the United States. He’ll hold his 9th Annual Production Sale Nov. 13, selling stock and frozen embryos to buyers who gather at the farm or call in on one of 20 phone lines installed for the occasion, and at any give time he may have 40-50 people actively bidding during the 45-minute event that grosses $80,000 to $90,000. “Modern cattle breeders have produced big, tall, growthy consumer-friendly cattle that rely on grain-fed operations to survive,” Sam said. “We’re breeding producer-friendly cattle for farmers who want to get back to the pure, breeder-type Angus. We stay out of the mainstream, but we like it that way. We’ve been able to keep our costs low and find a strong market.”

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