Frequently Asked Questions About Our Steer Sales

Rolling Red Ranch currently pre-finishes its steers and meat heifers for private treaty sales.  After weaning, they are raised on pasture until about 10-13 months of age, during which time they are available for private treaty sale.  After about 13 months, if they have not been sold private treaty, they are sold to a bulk buyer. 

Steers are sold by pound weight on day of pickup / delivery.  We will have the steer in the pen when you arrive, and we will run them through the scale.  The steer's weight is then multiplied by the current ETX livestock median price in the applicable weight category.  For simplicity, we use the 600-800 category for any animal 600# or more in our available inventory.  

These options allow you to finish out the steer yourself how you choose (grass-finished versus grain-finished) which is a great option for families who have a couple of acres of pasture and can finish the steer on their own:

• Example 1:  You are interested in a pre-conditioned weanling (weaned at least 30 days, has received parasite control, anti-clostridial and anti-viral vaccinations).  The weanling weighs 489#.  The current ETX livestock report had a median price of $2.925 in the 400-500# weight category.  Your cost would be $1430.33.  
• Example 2:  The yearling steer you choose weighs 794 pounds.  The current ETX livestock report had a median price of $2.20 in the 600-800 steer weight category.  Your cost would be $1746.80.
• Example 3:  You choose a 14-month-old steer that was almost sent to the bulk buyer.  On the day of pickup, he weighs 970#.  The current ETX livestock market had a median price of $2.20 in the 600-800 plus steer weight category.  Your cost is $2134.

See East Texas Livestock for more information.

9/3/24 SUMMARY FROM ETX LIVESTOCK 

600 to 800#:  $2.01 - $2.41 per pound, giving median price for current RRR steer sales @ $2.20 per pound.  

I don't always have time to update the number above, so please use this link for this week's pricing:  East Texas Livestock.   

Simply put, we offer our pre-finished steers to families who want a more affordable, higher quality option than beef at the grocery store.  We see it too with each trip to the store perusing the insanely high prices that seem to go up each month, especially in the meat department.  Buying your beef direct from the ranch cuts out all of the middleman price increases.  You get to fill your freezer with a great product to feed your family and even have cuts of meat you may have been passing up at the store.  Our family enjoys a ribeye roast at the Christmas table!  I mean, we just had home-grown turkey at Thanksgiving ;).

If we sent most of our steers to the ETX LIVESTOCK marketplace, we feel confident they would sell at the higher end.  We give you the median price of the group to help your family save money and get better cuts for your table.  Sam's Club was offering Choice Ribeye's for just under $13 a pound and Choice Tenderloin for just under $20 a pound last week.   You can finish out your own steer and have it processed yourself, and you get these finer cuts for the price of hamburger to brisket pricing.  Folks, this is a great deal for you, but it doesn't last long - the steers generally leave the ranch by 12-13 months, and the opportunity is gone until the next calf crop is ready.

NO.  Due to current time restraints, RRR is NOT currently offering FEED-OUT or FINISHED STEERS. 

N/A.  NOT OFFERED AT THIS TIME.

Due to pasture constraints from the drought recovery and our growth, we are not offering reserve at this time.   We need our pasture space for the calf crops ahead.  

We are working on opening up more pasture in the next year and may reserve again in the future.

We do not recommend feed-out before 18 months of age for F1 and Red Brangus steers.  We recommend giving purebred Hereford steers until about 21 months of age prior to feed-out.  They develop a tad slower, but the meat quality is worth the wait.  All red cattle develop well on pasture, so there is no need to feed out before these recommended times.  That being said, everyone's tastes (and opinions!) are different; it's your steer, go with your own research and experience and let your heart be glad. 

Generally, around 24 months after a 90–120-day grain feed-out.  We do not recommend longer feed outs than 120 days for the health of the steer and the desirability of cuts for you.   You will need to check the steer for brisket fat and tailbone fat accumulation to truly know when to start and stop feed-out, months of age are guidelines.  

Steers fed out on grain for more than 120 days will often develop too much extra-muscular fat.  This is typically undesirable for most consumers.  You want your fat in the muscle (marbling) for the best palatability.

YES, delivery fees from the ranch:

0-30 miles: $50

31-60 miles: $100

If you need delivery beyond 60 miles, please arrange your own livestock transportation.

YES, all cattle on our ranch receive all necessary vaccinations and de-worming.  They are treated with Covexin 8 or similar for the clostridial diseases as well as Vira-Shield or similar for respiratory diseases.  They also receive Dectomax injectable or a Pour On for parasites & de-wormer.  The Herefords will receive an additional vaccination against pink-eye.  On occasion, if they are heavily bothered by flies, we will treat them with StandGuard or similar.  

 WE NEVER USE HORMONES.  Antibiotics are only used in the event of injury or illness.  This is extremely rare, and we keep records of all treatments.

NO.  We suggest you choose your own processor.  It's your beef and it's best you choose the facility and specify your own cuts. 

In general, shrinkage is the loss of pounds due to stress.  It is very common.  Cattle will metabolize energy at an extremely high rate and will excrete sweat, urine and feces heavily under stress and therefore lose weight.  This is generally due to transportation stress and new environments as well as feed-lot noise.  For example, you transport your fed out steer directly to the processor 51 miles away and it weighs 25 pounds less than it did when you left the ranch than when it arrived at the processor and finally got weighed, this is shrinkage.  Neither of the scales are wrong.  If you want to know where most of the pounds went, look at the floor of the trailer.  If you purchased a steer that you are finishing out yourself and it loses weight the first week at your place, it is experiencing the stress of adjusting to its new environment:  new pastures, finding its safety and water and so forth.  This shrinkage will soon be regained if properly cared for.