Cindy Siddoway is a fourth generation Idahoan. In 1902, Cindy’s great-grandfather, Edward Laird, migrated from Utah to eastern Idaho. He and his sons purchased land near Dubois, Camas Meadows, and Henry’s Lake and with 12,000 head of sheep, formed the E. Laird and Sons Sheep Company. A few years earlier, in 1886, the James Siddoway family also migrated from Utah to eastern Idaho. At just 24 years of age, James brought his wife, two horses, and a wagon filled with supplies on the two-week journey from Salt Lake City to what would become the city of Teton. James participated in politics, serving on the Teton City Council, the Fremont County Commission, and in the Idaho legislature. James and Ruth bred a few head of livestock, registering their sheep brand in 1898, and reared eleven children.
As a child, Cindy loved to raise the bum lambs and continued to do so even in her college years. Growing up in the town of Teton, she was great friends with the Siddoway kids and through that association, eventually met and married Jeff Siddoway, the great grandson of James Siddoway. Jeff met all of the qualifications that Cindy wanted in a husband - he had sheep, could ride a horse and had a Sunday suit.
Cindy also had some talents that worked well on a sheep ranch. She could drive a team of horses, fix fences, raise lambs and could easily manage the water trucks. In fact, on the day they were married, they both hauled water to the sheep, took time to get married, and were back at 6:00 am the next morning to haul water again.
From their union came three children - Billie Jean, Jodie and J.C. Today, they are the proud grandparents of four grandchildren - Wayne, Emma, Clark and Mitchell.
Jeff and Cindy became actively involved in local, state and national politics having leadership positions in the Idaho Wool Growers Association, the National Wool Growers Association and the American Sheep Industry Association. They both have served on numerous boards and associations relating to production agriculture. Cindy has the distinction of being elected the first woman president of the American Sheep Industry (ASI), which was established in 1865 as the National Wool Growers Association, and is the oldest trade association in the United States. She was also honored with the McClure Silver Ram Award in 2016 from the American Sheep Industry Association.
Cindy currently serves on the Sheep Heritage Foundation, ASI Legislative Action Council, Mountain Plains Agriculture Service, BYUI Animal Science Advisory Board and serves on the Idaho State Board of Education. Jeff served twelve years in the Idaho State Senate representing Legislative District 35 following in the footsteps of his great-grandfather James and his grandfather, J.C.
The Siddoway family’s sheep business is now in its six generation. Cindy and Jeff are extremely proud of their rich heritage. They are pleased to see their grandchildren experience the opportunities and lessons of working with the sheep in this beautiful landscape of Idaho.
“We currently operate the ranch much the same as our forefathers. The sheep continue to winter on the big desert and migrate to high summer pastures from near Jackson, Wyoming, south to Swan Valley, Idaho. The horses still pasture north of the St. Anthony sand dunes where we have added elk and bison on nearly 12,000 acres of our Juniper Mountain land. We use the same or similar equipment: sheep camps, canvas tents, paint sticks, lambing sheds, and even the old granny wagon. Our experience on the land has led to some changes in our management style. Having lived here for generations, we have learned some valuable lessons about managing our ranch to survive drought, predators, and severe winters, and to benefit rangelands, water, wildlife and our sustainable resources,” shared Cindy.
