In today’s Beef Buzz, senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays features audio with Bob Funk Jr. about the upcoming dispersal of the Express Ranches cattle operation. Funk’s comments come from a recent conversation that he and longtime Express Ranches’ management Donnie Robertson and Kevin Hafner had about the decision to disperse the historic herd by the middle of 2027.
After the passing of Bob Funk Sr. a little more than a year ago, the Funk family made the difficult decision to liquidate the cattle operation, with the majority of the females set to sell during the Big Event October 5-7 at the ranch in Yukon, Oklahoma.
A Difficult Decision for the Funk Family
Funk says the decision to disperse the herd was not one the family made lightly, and he believes it would be a mistake to point to one specific reason behind the decision. “It’s a hard decision to make around the dispersal of the ranch and sale the operation overall. It didn’t come without a lot of heavy thought.”
Funk says the family has deeply enjoyed its time in the ranching and Angus business, particularly the relationships built throughout the years. “The family has enjoyed and really loved being in the ranching business, the Angus business, and the level of success that we have enjoyed has been phenomenal.”
He says those relationships may ultimately be one of the most important parts of the legacy left by Express Ranches. “I would say most importantly, probably what we enjoyed the most is just the people and the relationships that we’ve gotten to build over time.”
Funk says achieving excellence also creates the challenge of continually trying to maintain and improve upon that standard. “When you set out to achieve excellence, and then you achieve excellence, maintaining that excellence is a challenge, and you’re constantly setting the bar higher for yourself.”
Sharing the Express Genetics With the Industry
While the cattle operation is being dispersed, Funk says he is proud of the genetic program that has been developed at Express Ranches and sees the sale as an opportunity to share those genetics throughout the Angus industry. “We find ourselves in a position as a family that there are just circumstances that are unavoidable, and combination with an opportunity in so many levels—not just on a financial opportunity or an economic opportunity—but an opportunity to, I think, number one, be proud.”
Funk says the family also has an opportunity to extend the legacy created by his father. “I can feel proud that that legacy, through the genetics and through the excellence that’s been developed, and through all of your efforts, I can feel proud to see that be carried on through the entire industry.”
He says that opportunity is something he considers unique. “I think that’s something truly unique that very few operations get to participate in.”
Honoring the People Behind Express Ranches
Funk says the dispersal also provides an opportunity to recognize the people who helped build Express Ranches into what it became. “This gives us, I would say me personally, but our family as well, the opportunity to honor in a really interesting and special way that I hadn’t thought about until about a month or two ago.”
He says that includes recognizing the people who invested years of work into the operation. “I think it really does honor all of your efforts and all of your wisdom and all of your hard work.”
Funk says that perspective helped change how he viewed what was otherwise a very difficult decision. “While it is not the decision I would have liked to have made, it was approaching that decision with trepidation. It really turned my perspective.”
Funk Plans to Stay Connected to the Cattle Business
Although Funk says the family is stepping away from the Express cattle operation, he does not expect his connection to the cattle industry to disappear. “I’ll always want to at least be attached in a way to the cattle business in some way, shape, form, or fashion.”
Funk says cattle have been part of his life since childhood and remain a personal passion. “We’ve always had cattle growing up. That’s the reason I love it so much because it’s so many childhood memories that are wrapped up in it.”
He does not anticipate returning to the cattle business at the same scale as Express Ranches, but he says he wants to maintain some connection to the industry. “I don’t think we get back into the business at the level we were at. But you know, having a tie, at least being having visibility into what’s going on in the cattle markets and the cattle business, it will always be a passion of mine.”
Funk says he does not view that passion as simply a hobby. “It’s not a hobby of some sort in that respect. Because I do, I love it.”
A Legacy That Will Continue
While there will understandably be sadness surrounding the end of the Funk family’s ownership of the cattle operation, Funk says he is encouraged that the ranch and the genetics will continue into the future. “I do feel like it’s what’s best for the family and what’s best for the operation overall.”
He says he will be pleased to see the ranch continue as a cattle operation outside of the family’s ownership. “I’ll be glad that the genetics will get carried on. I mean, the property and the ranch itself will carry on as a cattle operation, outside of our hands or from a family standpoint.”
At the same time, Funk acknowledges the emotions that will come with the transition. “I’ll be pleased and happy that it’ll get to carry on, but there’ll be some sadness around that too, fond memories and of both people and times.”
The Express Ranches Big Event female dispersal is scheduled for October 5, 6 and 7 at the ranch in Yukon, Oklahoma.
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.
