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Company Hosts Top Cattle Sale

Posted on: Thursday, 8 September 2005, 18:00 CDT

Sep. 7--While most employees were relaxing Monday in celebration of Labor Day, the cattle business was thriving in Oklahoma as ranchers from across the country gathered at one of the top breeder stock auctions nationwide.

Dressed in starched khakis, cowboy hats and ties, cattle industry elite roamed the halls of Express Ranches' sale barn looking for a good deal on what many cattle experts place among some of the best breeding heifers in the country.

And though cattle prices remain high, not even Express Ranches owner Bob Funk could have predicted the $3.5 million in sales, the highest amount ever brought in by their annual event. The total was aided by another record -- the ranch's top heifer in the sale fetched $250,000 on the auction block, the second highest payout for an Angus breed ever, a ranch official said.

Last year the sale brought in $2.8 million on 100 fewer head of cattle. Funk credited his staff and the ranch's superior genetics for attracting more than 1,000 ranchers.

"This year's sales are a tribute to (Express Ranches President) Jarrold Callahan and his genetic development program," Funk said. "As one fellow once told me, with good genetics you have high dollar sales, and obviously that shows."

Most of the money collected Monday will be reinvested in the ranch's genetics program. Before the auction began, Funk announced that 1 percent of the total sale -- or $35,000 -- will be donated to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Rancher Kyle Norris traveled from Hackleburg, Ala., to bid. Though he said some buyers are there looking for show heifers, most ranchers come from so far away to bring Express' superior genetics home.

"Most people come into this knowing what they are interested in and how much they are willing to pay for it," he said.

Nebraska rancher Arlen Sawyer said he traveled to the sale because Express' auction has become a must attend in the cattle industry nationwide.

"This is probably the Angus breed sale that sets the standard," he said. "There is typically one Angus sale every year that everyone attends, and Express has become that sale in the last few years."

The auction also gives other breeding operations a chance to see the competition and allows ranchers to compare Express' cattle with their own back at home, Muskogee rancher Dean Haggard said.

"Most people are thinking, 'If I bid on one, what can I get out of one if I turn around and sell it?' Everyone is looking to make a profit," he said. "This is one of the top-notch programs, so you can come in here and compare what you have to their cattle, which gives you an idea of where you are at."

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Source: The Daily Oklahoman

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