History
Within the University System of Maryland, the Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station was charged with managing the herd on a daily basis and it continues to do so today. With acceptance of the herd gift, the University agreed to make any animals deemed excess to research needs available for the general public in some equitable fashion. The agreement to the annual public auction of Wye Angus cattle held each April since 1978.
History
Taken from Beef by the Bay, June 1998
From 1938 to 1979, Wye Plantation was owned by the late Mr. Arthur A. Houghton, Jr. Houghton and Mr. James B. (Jim) Lingle, Farm Manager, founded the herd with 18 registered yearling heifers and one bull. Ten of those heifers were half-sisters, sharing the same sire. No other females were ever introduced into the herd. Between 1942 and 1958, Wye Plantation imported 19 bulls from the British Isles. Those bulls are responsible for about 75 percent of the germ plasm now in the herd. The Wye Angus herd was closed to the introduction of additional germ plasm in 1958. It was reopened for a brief period to half of the herd in order to complete a research project. It has remained closed ever since.
The availability of this closed breeding population provides unique advantages in terms of conducting basic and applied beef cattle research. Individual animal variation, due to genetics, is significantly reduced which improves the interpretation of research results. In addition, the use of a limited number of bulls across a fairly homogeneous population of females results in larger numbers of individual sire groups of calves for study. Whenever individual variation can be reduced, the significance of scientific findings is improved.
The University of Maryland established its first official presence at Wye Plantation in 1954. In the fall of that year, Dr. Willard Green agreed to supervise the first post-weaning gain test of bulls on the farm, and bulls have been similarly tested ever since. This work by Dr. Green founded one of the most comprehensive beef cattle performance evaluation programs in the United States. These efforts led to a vastly improved selection of superior sires from which Wye Angus established a lasting impact on the genetic make up of the national Angus herd. Through Dr. Green, the University of Maryland was involved in various research projects at Wye Plantation until his retirement in 1977.
In 1979, Mr. Houghton gifted the University of Maryland with the Wye Angus herd. The private, nonprofit University of Maryland Foundation was created to accept and hold the gift for use by the University, and remains the legal owner of the herd today.
Within the University System of Maryland, the Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station was charged with managing the herd on a daily basis and it continues to do so today. With acceptance of the herd gift, the University agreed to make any animals deemed excess to research needs available for the general public in some equitable fashion. The agreement to the annual public auction of Wye Angus cattle held each April since 1978.
2022 Wye Angus Progeny Sires
Book Sale
This is the story of an outstanding herd that was built not by great infusions of capital but by the far-sighted and well directed efforts of a breeder-manager who was given full rein by his principal.
Book Sale
The Breed of Noble Bloods, By James B. Lingle
In the words of the master breeder himself, James B. Lingle, The Breed of Noble Bloods relates the development of the Wye herd from the time of the acquistion of the historic Wye Plantation by Arthur A. Houghton, Jr. in the mid 1930's until the present apex of its achievements. This is the story of an outstanding herd that was built not by great infusions of capital but by the far-sighted and well directed efforts of a breeder-manager who was given full rein by his principal.
Makes a great gift!
$15.00 (inludes shipping). Make checks payable to Wye Angus. Book arrives in about 2 weeks.
Mailing Address:
Wye Angus
2016 Carmichael Road
Queenstown, MD 21658
Semen Sales
See below for information on Wye Angus semen sales.
Semen Sales
| Sire Name | Registration # |
Semen Price |
Certificate Price |
| Aiken of Wye UMF 9464 | 15925959 | $ 20 | $ 30 |
| Alap of Wye UMF 8329 | 13641146 | $ 20 | $ 30 |
| Aristocrat of Wye UMF 9344 | 15600085 | $ 20 | $ 30 |
| Bangle of Wye UMF 9480 | 15925961 | $ 20 | $ 30 |
| Barnabas of Wye UMF 9281 | 15600071 | $ 20 | $ 30 |
| Brassard of Wye UMF 9936 | 16813981 | $ 20 | $ 30 |
| Briar of Wye UMF 9024 | 14794521 | $ 20 | $ 30 |
| Brick of Wye UMF 10367 | 17606162 | $ 20 | $ 30 |
| Bridge of Wye UMF 9158 | 15141484 | $ 20 | $ 30 |
| Brins of Wye UMF 9635 | 16243300 | $ 20 | $ 30 |
| Carpus of Wye UMF 10684 | 18303503 | $ 20 | $ 30 |
| Cedric of Wye UMF 8998 | 14794513 | $ 20 | $ 30 |
| Claymont of Wye UMF 10834 | 18627227 | $20 | $ 30 |
| Clarkson of Wye UMF 9166 | 15141486 | $ 20 | $ 30 |
| Faxton of Wye UMF 8819 | 14511922 | $ 20 | $ 30 |
| Forester of Wye UMF 9604 | 16431555 | $ 20 | $ 30 |
| Lander of Wye UMF 10387 | 17609588 | $ 20 | $ 30 |
| Larkspur of Wye UMF 10530 | 18030544 | $ 20 | $ 30 |
| Leelo of Wye UMF 10689 | 18255260 | $ 20 | $ 30 |
| Leadore of Wye UMF 10536 | 18030543 | $ 20 | $ 30 |
| Logan of Wye UMF 6692 | 11413693 | $ 20 | $ 30 |
| Lorton of Wye UMF 9055 | 14794526 | $ 20 | $ 30 |
| Qevin of Wye UMF 9781 | 16409715 | $ 20 | $ 30 |
| Quon of Wye UMF 10033 | 16813965 | $ 20 | $ 30 |
Starting April 1, 2022, shipping cost will be added to your invoice.
Call or email your semen order:
410-827-6016, lyoash@umd.edu
Make checks payable to: Wye Angus
Mailing Address:
Wye Angus
2016 Carmichael Road
Queenstown, MD 21658
Research
Research projects are ongoing at the WyeRec facility.
Research at Wye Angus
Grass Fed vs. Grain Fed Steer Projects
Dr. Jiuzhou Song started a research project in the fall of 2011 examining the effects of how finishing cattle on an alfalfa and orchard grass diet alters the epigenetic status of genes affecting beef quality and the fatty acid profile. The ultimate goal of this research project is to develop methods that beef producers can use through dietary interventions to produce a highly palatable and nutritious product.
Integrated metabolomic and transcriptome analyses reveal finishing forage affects metebolic pathways related to beef quality and animal welfare (Published 05/11/16)
Dr. Zhenjjuo Xiao has initiated a project involving Ostertagia Ostertagi, the most economically important gastrointestinal nematode parasite in the cattle industry. He will be comparing parasite levels in both our grain fed steers and grass fed steers.
Bovine neutrophils form extracellular traps in response to the gastrointestinal parasite Ostertagia ostertagi (Published 12/04/18)
2022 Test Reports
Bull Test Results
28-Day Test
56-Day Test
84-Day Test
112-Day Bulls
Heifer Test Results
Media
Review newsletters and video features below. You can also join our mailing list!
Newsletter/Articles
Newsletter
2021 November Angus Journal
Hay and Forage Magazine
https://hayandforage.com/article-2278-Wye-Angus-bred-to-graze-and-much-more.html
AngusOneMagazine
Wye Angus on RFD TV and Maryland Farm to Harvest
Maryland Farm to Harvest
Wye Angus on Farm to Harvest episode 605 - (starts at 15:25)
2014 Wye Angus Sale - click link below
RFD TV - History of the Wye Angus Herd
I Am Angus - First aired December 19, 2011
Cattleman to Cattleman - First aired August 23, 2011
Join the Wye Angus Mailing List
Address, Hours & Contact
Address
410-827-6016 - Office
2016 Carmichael Road
Queenstown, MD 21658
Hours
8:00AM - 4:30 PM EST
Contact
Program Manager
Mr. Kevin Morgan, Herd Manager, email: kmorgan@umd.edu 410-827-6016
Mrs. Lisa Yoash, Program Management Specialist, email: lyoash@umd.edu, 410-827-6016
Mr. John W. Dulin, (JW) Agricultural Technician, 410-827-6016
Mr. Dean Hutchinson, Agricultural Technician, 410-827-6016