In today’s Beef Buzz, Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays speaks with Vice President of Marketing for Express Ranches, Donnie Robertson. “This is our 29th year to have the big event,” Robertson said, regarding the sale this Friday and Saturday. “ Bob’s motto was, it’s never done till it’s overdone, and Bob always wanted to have a big sale, because he loved to entertain.” Robertson explained that Friday will feature fall-calving cattle—“cows that have got baby calves on them and young cattle”—alongside a Friday night party. Saturday, he said, is “what we generally call the big event,” featuring spring pairs, donor prospects, young cattle, and “a really select group of show heifers.”
Robertson expressed excitement about the genetics on display. “We had a bull by the name of Ambitious and a bull by the name of True Balance that we both use extensively. And we’re very happy with the calves. This will be really the first set of calves that we’ve sold out of this Ambitious bull, and we like them.” He added, “We try to offer every need in the big event we think we have something for everyone, regardless if you’re needing a donor cow or a new up-and-coming donor for you.”
The event, Robertson said, attracts buyers from far beyond Oklahoma. “We get a wide band of national people that come from all over, just about every state, for the most part, are represented somehow as they come to the big event.” He emphasized the appeal for all types of cattle buyers, from serious breeders to young people seeking “really good show heifers.”
Discussing the focus on females in this sale, Robertson reflected on the ranch’s breeding philosophy. “One thing that we have always strived to do is that we want to raise a great looking product that also has superior genomic EPDs, and it’s not always easy to get.” Their goal, he explained, is “to make sure that that cow has all the traits needed to produce those bulls that still has a good look about her, that is functional, that has a maternal look about her, which is what Angus has been famous for.”
In closing, Robertson reaffirmed Express Ranches’ balanced approach. “We try to get a little bit of both. We believe that we raise a great looking cow that also has a really good set of EPDs.” The Big Event, he said, is built to showcase that philosophy, offering genetics and cattle “for years to come” to a diverse, nationwide audience.
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 for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
