Our scheduling target is a harvest date within 21 days of your call, and we usually hit it. Add the 2–3 weeksit takes to harvest, age, cut, and freeze, and the realistic distance from “I should call them” to beef in the freezer is about five to six weeks. In a slow month it is shorter. In the fall crunch it can be longer, and we will tell you which it is when you call.
The two clocks
People blur two different waits together. They are worth keeping apart, because you control one and we control the other.
| Clock | What it is | Typical | Who controls it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Booking lead time | From your call to the harvest date we give you | Target: within 21 days. Shorter in summer, sometimes longer in fall | Demand. The earlier you call, the more choice you have |
| Processing time | From drop-off to pickup | 2–3 weeks, every time | The aging. 14 days of it, which we will not shorten |
The processing clock is fixed and you can read why in how long beef should hang. The booking clock is the one this guide is about.
Why we hold ourselves to 21 days
Plenty of processors in Texas are booked months out, and some take that as a compliment. We do not. A rancher whose steer is finished in October should not have to feed it through January because the plant could not take it. So we size the harvest schedule to keep the wait within 21 days in a normal week. It does not always work perfectly. It works most of the time, and when it will not, you get the real date on the phone rather than a hopeful one.
The year, month by month
| Months | Demand | What is happening | Advice |
|---|---|---|---|
| January to March | High | County stock shows release market steers within a few weeks of each other: Hood and Erath in January, Fort Worth in early February, Tarrant in late February or March | Show families: call before the show and hold a slot. See the show steer guide |
| April to June | Moderate | Spring grass, some grain-finished animals coming off feed. Parker County's stock show falls in early June | Easy booking. A good time for first-timers who want a relaxed drop-off |
| July to early September | Low | Heat. Few animals finishing, families traveling | Shortest lead times of the year. If your animal is ready, you can pick your day |
| Late September to early December | Highest | Pasture-finished cattle come off summer grass, hunting season, and everyone wants beef before Thanksgiving and Christmas | Call in September, or as soon as you have a finish date. This is the one season the target can slip |
Working backward from a date
If you need beef by a specific day, start there and subtract. Processing is 2–3 weeks. Booking is up to 21 days. Add a week of slack for a finish that runs late or a slot that moves.
| You want | Beef in hand by | Call us by |
|---|---|---|
| Thanksgiving beef in the freezer | Late November | Mid-October |
| Christmas prime rib | Mid-December | Late October to early November |
| Beef for a spring farmers market | Early April | Late February |
| Show steer home from a January show | Mid-February | Before the show, in December |
| Filling the freezer before summer | Late May | Mid-April |
What to have ready when you call
- A rough finish window.Even “late October” is enough to hold a slot. We can move it.
- Head count and split. One whole, or two halves for two families, changes how many cut sheets we need.
- Whether any beef is for sale. It does not change the date, but it changes labeling, and it is easier to plan now.
- Whether it is a show animal. Show steers get extra USDA screening at harvest. Say so up front.
You do not need the cut sheet to book. You need it by drop-off, and the guide walks every line. Drop-off day covers what happens when you arrive.
Holding a date costs nothing
There is no deposit to hold a harvest date and no fee to move or cancel one. So the smart move is to call early with your best guess. If the animal finishes late, call and we move the date. If you release a date, the next family on the list takes it. The only thing that costs you is waiting until the animal is fat to pick up the phone in October.
Ready to get on the calendar? Call (817) 404-7405, Monday–Friday, 10am–6pm. Flat fee, $850 whole or $450 half, and the date we give you is the date.