Express Ranches winds down cattle operation with $24 million dispersal sale 

Express Ranches in Yukon, Oklahoma, is continuing the dispersal of its cattle herd, marking the end of an era for one of the nation’s largest seedstock operations. The dispersal is putting decades of genetic development into the hands of cattle producers across the country. 

For Donnie Robertson, vice president of marketing at Express Ranches, the dispersal is both a difficult farewell and an opportunity to reflect on a 32-year career with an operation that has shaped his family and left its mark on the cattle industry. 

“Obviously, to me, it’s very sad, but I’m also very appreciative of what it’s given to me and my family,” Robertson said. 

When Robertson began working at the ranch more than three decades ago, his daughter was 1-year-old, and his son had not yet been born. Today, he has three grandchildren, and his children and grandchildren consider Express Ranches their home. 

The Big Event Dispersal sale 

Express Ranches’ Big Event Dispersal Sale, held Oct. 5 to 7 at the ranch headquarters in Yukon, grossed $24,000,821, with buyers from 42 states purchasing cattle from the operation built under the leadership of the late Bob Funk Sr., who died in 2025. 

The auction included 1,178 lots, equivalent to 1,875 head. However, the total number of animals was approximately 2,400 when recipient cows with calves at their sides were included. Robertson said the sale averaged $20,953 per lot and $13,860 per head. 

The event drew 1,302 registered bidders representing 480 buyers. More than 1,200 people attended each day, Robertson said. Bidding was conducted in person and online through LiveAuctions.tv and LiveAg. 

Decades of genetics 

The dispersal marked the departure of cattle representing more than three decades of genetic investment. Robertson expects the genetics to continue influencing the industry through the operations that purchased the cattle. 

“They’re not necessarily going away; they’re going to other owners that will hopefully continue to make them better each year,” he said. 

Robertson said he believes the cattle offered during the three-day sale represented some of the best the ranch had produced. 

“I think you’ll see cattle that left here go on and be dominant in the breed and be a really good income stream for those that bought them,” he said. 

Express Ranches’ influence 

Funk established Express Ranches in 1991, and the operation developed a broad presence across the cattle industry through seedstock production, livestock shows, cattle feeding, and meat marketing. The operation raised Angus, Limousin and Hereford cattle and became a prominent competitor at livestock shows.  

“I don’t think there’s really been anybody other than Express that has done as much for the whole industry,” Robertson said. “I think we’ve established and played on just about every avenue that you can play on within this industry.” 

Robertson said the ranch considered the quality of replacement females as well as the performance of potential bulls, reflecting the operation’s emphasis on producing genetics that could serve commercial and seedstock producers.  

The operation also developed longstanding relationships with cattle producers and customers through its annual sales. For years, Express Ranches held six sales annually at its Yukon headquarters: The Big Event, a fall bull sale, a Hereford production sale, a spring bull sale, a show Hereford sale and the Grass Time sale. 

The impact of Bob Funk Sr. 

Robertson credited Funk with giving the ranch the resources and independence it needed to develop its breeding program and expand its reach across the industry. 

“Bob Funk Sr. was a man of vision. He had a dream of cattle,” Robertson said. “He grew up without a lot of money, on a dairy farm in Washington state. He knew what hard work was, and he loved the livestock. He loved the land.” 

Funk co-founded Express Employment Professionals in 1983, building a staffing and workforce solutions business that helped provide the financial foundation for his other business interests, including livestock, as well as philanthropic efforts supporting organizations such as Oklahoma FFA and the Oklahoma Youth Expo.  

Robertson said Funk trusted employees to make decisions that would improve the ranch’s breeding program and business. 

“He gave us the resources to go out and buy the right kind of cattle that we needed to buy and let us do it,” Robertson said. “He never got in the way of how we wanted to breed them or how we wanted to sell them.” 

A people business 

For Robertson, the relationships built through the livestock industry are as important to the legacy of Express Ranches as the genetics developed through years of breeding. 

“The cattle come and go, but the people in the business, the relationships, the friendships that you make along the way, to me, are truly the most important,” he said. 

The operation worked to ensure sale attendees felt welcome and had reasons to return beyond the cattle genetics, Robertson said. 

“It is very much a people business, and we’re very proud of that,” he said. 

The future of the ranch property remains uncertain. Robertson said negotiations are underway for the sale of the land, with the hope that it will go to buyers who will continue operating it as a cattle ranch. He also said the Funk family has stated it will not allow the property to be developed for a data center. 

After the remaining cattle are dispersed over the coming months, Robertson plans to enter semi-retirement. He intends to remain in Oklahoma and continue working in the cattle industry, likely in a consulting role. 

“It’s really all I know and love in terms of an occupation,” he said. 

Remaining sales 

Express held annual fall bull and commercial female sale Oct. 19 which included 250 bulls and 200 commercial bred heifers. To liquidate the rest of the livestock, Express will conduct an online Angus embryo sale Dec. 1 and the final auction at the Yukon headquarters will be the March 31st annual spring bull and female sale. 

The dispersal closes a chapter for Express Ranches, but the genetics developed over decades will carry on in the herds of new owners, along with the relationships built with cattle producers across the industry. 

Lacey Vilhauer can be reached at 620-227-1871 or [email protected].