Octoraro Angus

Octoraro Angus, run by Sam Wylie, has been raising registered black angus cattle in New Paris, Pennsylvania since 1975, making it one of the longer-standing seedstock operations in Bedford County, in the Allegheny Mountains southwest of Altoona.

A third-generation Angus breeder, Sam draws on a lineage of Angus work in eastern Pennsylvania and has spent decades refining a program built around what he calls pure, breeder-type cattle. The focus at Octoraro Angus is maternal efficiency, longevity, and least-cost production rather than the terminal growth and carcass traits that dominate many modern programs. Linebreeding and tight breeding are the primary tools, with the goal of producing females that are consistent, predictable, and capable of productive lives lasting up to twenty years.

The herd is managed on pasture using intensive rotational grazing, with hay from neighboring farms carrying the cattle through winter. Grain plays no role in the program. In 2005, Sam and his wife Sherrill acquired the rare Newport Farm Wye-based gene pool, which they have carefully maintained by breeding to time-tested Wye bulls rather than making radical genetic changes. That commitment to preserving old Wye genetics alongside their own homebred lines has made Octoraro black angus cattle sought as seedstock by breeders across the country. In 2008, the Pennsylvania Angus Association and the Pennsylvania Cattlemen's Association recognized the operation as Seed Stock Breeder of the Year.

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