In today’s Beef Buzz, senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays speaks with Donnie Robertson, Vice President of Express Ranch, who continues the conversation from part one, which aired yesterday, about the decision by the Funk family to disperse the iconic Express Ranches cattle operation. In this second installment, Robertson details how the ranch plans to market its massive female herd during one final major event this fall.
Why the Family Chose to Move Forward Now
Robertson said the decision came after the family carefully evaluated the operation’s future, the current market, and the realities of managing such a large ranch. “We’re not getting any younger,” Robertson said. “Kevin and I have been here for 30-plus years, we’re in a great cattle market, as you well know, Ron. I think the decision was just kind of made that, hey, it’s probably time to do something like what we’re doing, and just move on.”
He noted that while the family was not under pressure to make an immediate decision, current market conditions made now the right time.
A Massive Herd Means a Complex Dispersal
Robertson said the sheer size of the Express Ranches operation made planning the dispersal a major undertaking. “When you look at the scope of Express, we run so many cattle here in the Canadian County area, but we also ran cattle in Guthrie,” Robertson said. “Along with doing some cooperative deals on ET calves in several different states, the first thing that we did was try to find out exactly where they all were.”
He admitted even the management team did not fully grasp the scale at first. “As crazy as that sounds, we knew we had a lot, but we really didn’t know how many was a lot,” he said. “When you do the numbers the way that we have, it’s about 2,400 head of Angus cattle that are here that will be merchandised.”
Three-Day October Sale to Feature Elite Females
After weighing multiple options, Robertson said management determined a three-day sale would best serve the family and maximize value. “We sat in the office and tried to figure out exactly what was the best thing to do for the family,” Robertson said. “The unique thing about Bob Jr. and the family is that we weren’t rushed to do this.”
The female dispersal sale is scheduled for October 5, 6, and 7. Robertson said the first day will feature fall-calving cattle and fall open heifer calves. “The first day will be basically all fall-calving cattle and fall open heifer calves,” he said. “I think we’re looking at about 700 lots in that sale.”
Day two will showcase many of the ranch’s elite genetics. “Tuesday will kind of be the traditional Saturday of the Big Event,” Robertson said. “That’s where we’ll have most of the donors, some fall opens, some spring ET calves, along with a really unique set of bred heifers that are calving in the spring of 2027.”
The third day will continue with elite females and spring pregnancies. “We’ll have over 300 spring pregnancies that are due to calve in January and February,” Robertson said, “and those would be out of some of our elite donor cows.”
Express Ranches Has Already Exited the Hereford Business
Robertson also reflected on another chapter of the ranch’s history—the Hereford program, which has now been fully dispersed. “We actually sold out of all of our Herefords here within the last year,” Robertson said.
He explained that while the Hereford cattle served an important role for commercial customers, the breed never reached the scale of the Angus operation. “The Hereford side of Express was never going to be as big as the Angus,” he said. “There was a need for Hereford bulls here, and we supplied that need for a lot of people.”
Robertson said many customers wanted a single source for both Angus and Hereford genetics. “A few of our larger commercial guys said, ‘Hey, if you had some Hereford bulls, we could do all this in one stop,’” he said. “So we got into the Hereford business primarily for that reason, and we established a pretty good Hereford bull market.”
Still, land and management demands eventually forced a narrowing of focus. “It really wasn’t big enough for three breeds,” Robertson said. “We had three breeds at one time, slowly dispersed of the Limousin, and now we’re completely out of the Hereford business, outside of a few partnership cows.”
More Dispersal Details Coming in Part Three
Robertson said more details about the remainder of the Express Ranches dispersal—including the bull offering and additional assets—will be discussed in the next installment of Ron Hays Beef Buzz with Express Ranches leadership.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR above for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
