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Farm History - We were working the soil and raising cattle in  central Auglaize
County before Auglaize County
existed. 171 years and six generations. The main farm was purchased in 1836 from the federal government for $1.25 an acre. We have maintained the original parchment deed. At the time of purchase the farm ground was located in what was Allen County. Portions of Allen and Mercer Counties were later broken off to form the present Auglaize County. Only two other farms were in existence
in the area with the Shawnee
Indian tribe being the nearest
neighbors. Local Shawnee leaders such as Blackhoof,
Shemeneto, Moluntha, and Catahecassa as well as Amaghqua
and Black Snake hunted what is now our pastures. The
Defiance Trail runs through the middle of the homestead. The 60'x 60' (18.3x18.3 meter) bank barn was constructed in 1880 and the main house in 1884. A farm billboard marks the original 1836 log cabin site in the donor/show lot. Two 30'x 60' (9.2 x 18.3 meter) cattle barn additions with office were added to the original barn in the late 1970s. The black & white photos shown above and to the right were taken in 1890 and the color photo in 1990. |
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Farm
Operations - The farm is in West Central Ohio, outside of St
Marys, OH and 8 mile (13 Km)  West of the town of Wapakoneta, located halfway
between Toledo and Cincinnati on Interstate-75. The farm is 993 acres (405 hectare), non irrigated, growing Winter Wheat, Corn, and Soybeans. A Registered Jersey cow herd was maintained until 1985. The ground is very flat to gently rolling and pastures are located in bottom ground unsuitable for grain crops due to potential for soil erosion to the crossing streams. Rotational grazing, high tensile fencing and top end New Zealand grass and legume cultivars are employed in the operation. All forage is grazed or stored in 60# (27 Kg) square or 900# (408 Kg) round bales. |
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Why Angus?- We have recorded having black beef type bulls
on the farm as far back as 1890. Angus and Hereford
commercial cattle have been present as a sideline to the
Jersey Dairy herd for many decades. We started with the
registered Angus herd as part of 4-H projects. Being
used to Jersey cattle, also known for their calving ease,
good maternal traits, high quality end product and
excellent marbling meat, The
choice of a high quality beef breed to follow suite was
obvious. Angus made the right choice and added vigorous
calves at birth as well as top dollar
"beefiness" at the yards. With experience in DHIA the decision to work with the AHIR (Angus Herd Improvement Records) program was a natural one. With agricultural
land values nearing $3,500 per acre in the county,
concentration on high quality was an economic must. |
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Cow Herd - The Sidey Angus herd maintains 50-55 mother
cows based on  Emulous, Wye, and
Western Canadian bloodlines. The herd has been 100% A.I.
bred since 1981 and was placed on AHIR that same year.
Embryo Transplant has been used since 1988 to add and
increase stronger cow families into the herd. We make our living off of Angus bulls because we raise the productive Cows that can produce them. We have consigned the Ohio Beef Expo Champion and/or Reserve Champion Angus Sale Cow in 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1995 and 1996. Our main donor females stem from the Windac Pride  4114, Prospect Ruth 70M, Blackbird of Wye
7313, Queen Mother of Wye 7479, and VDAR Lucy 5156 cow
families as well as our newest donors from the Miss Wix
of McCumber, Rita 5H11 and Forever Lady lines. We are
concentrating on top Carcass quality, low birth weight
and high yearling growth on a forage system. |
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 Owner
- Paul R. Sidey, 48, is the sixth generation
working the farm. He is a 1984 graduate of the University of
Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. He attended UC OCAS and holds a bachelor of fine arts in Electronic
Media in motion picture and audio production and minor in
Broadcast Public Relations as well as postgraduate work
in cinematography and multitrack audio recording from UC.
He was a film production instructor at UC for two years
and in addition to film freelance, worked five years as
an audio recording engineer, video director and producer
for ImageQuest Media Division of Cincinnati
Bell, Inc where he won the Time
Warner Blue Chip Award for Best Direction of a Theatrical
or Artistic performance adaptation for TelevisionPaul is past Executive Secretary and Fieldman for the Ohio Angus Association and past Chairman of the Ohio Cattlemen Association Purebred Breed Subcommittee and Ohio Beef Expo Barn Superintendent. He recently completed his second term as president of both the West Central Ohio Angus Association and also the Miami Valley Angus Association. Paul was the Auglaize County Cattlemen Assn. "Cattleman of the Year" in both 1996 and 2009 and was the recipent of the "Meritorious Service to the Cattle Industry" award in 2008. He serves as Secretary of the Board of Directors for the Buckland Telephone Company, BTC-Cable & Broadband and is past Vice-President of the Excutive Board of Directors of Bright.net-Ohio LLC. Paul is currently principle tubist with the Grand Lake Symphony, plays with the Lima Area Concert Band and designs and operates SSH Mouthpieces. |
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| Sidey Angus - Wapakoneta, Ohio | |
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Ticker
Tape courtesy of John Criswick |
