Reservation Terms and Conditions

1. What you are buying

You are reserving one whole live steer from the Sharpe Diamond Cattle Co. calf crop, raised on our grain-finished program, or grass-finished if you request it when you reserve. You are buying the live animal. The ranch acts as your agent to deliver it to a licensed processor, and the processor harvests and cuts it for you.

Because you own the animal before harvest, the beef is processed for your own household under the custom-exempt rules. Custom-processed beef is labeled “Not for Sale” and may not be resold.

2. Reservation and deposit

A $500 deposit reserves your steer. Your reservation is confirmed when the ranch has received both your deposit and your signed reservation agreement. Deposits paid by check are confirmed once the check clears.

The deposit is applied to the purchase price of your steer. Reservations are filled in the order deposits are received.

3. How to pay

• Zelle to Sharpe Diamond Cattle Co. LLC. The ranch will send you the Zelle details with your agreement.
• Personal or cashier’s check payable to Sharpe Diamond Cattle Co. LLC.
• Cash, with a written receipt.

The ranch does not accept credit cards, PayPal, or Venmo. Every payment receives a written receipt.

4. If you cancel

• The deposit is non-refundable. The ranch sets aside, feeds, and cares for your steer for many months, and a late cancellation can leave a finished animal without a buyer.
• Transfer instead: you may transfer your reservation to another person at no charge. Tell the ranch by email before the steer goes to the processor, and the new buyer signs their own agreement.
• Cancellations and transfers must be made in writing by email.

5. If your steer dies or cannot be harvested

Cattle are living animals, and the ranch cannot guarantee any one animal. If your steer dies, is injured, or develops a condition that keeps it from being harvested:

1. The ranch will tell you within 3 days.
2. The ranch will offer a replacement steer from the same calf crop and finishing program, at your same price per pound, if one is available.
3. If no replacement is available, or the replacement would be ready more than 3 months after your original estimate, you may choose a full refund of your deposit instead.
4. Refunds are paid within 14 days of your choice.

If the ranch cannot fill your reservation for any other reason, including drought, disease, or loss of the herd, your deposit is refunded in full within 14 days.

6. Price

Your price is set per pound of hanging weight: the weight of the carcass after harvest, before it is cut and packaged, as reported by the processor. Your price per pound is written on your reservation agreement and does not change for that reservation. Current prices are listed on the Pasture to Freezer page.

7. Final payment

The processor reports the hanging weight to the ranch, usually within a few days of harvest. The ranch then sends you a final invoice: hanging weight times your price per pound, less your deposit.

The balance is due within 7 days of the invoice and before you pick up your beef. If the balance is not paid within 14 days, your reservation is canceled and your deposit is forfeited. The ranch may then sell the beef to recover its costs.

8. Processing and pickup

• Harvest, cutting, wrapping, and any extra services are paid directly to the processor at their posted rates.
• You fill out the processor’s cut sheet. The ranch can help you with it.
• The ranch delivers your live steer at no charge to its processor, Fulton’s Custom Processing in Marlin, a Texas-licensed custom-exempt processor, or to another licensed processor of your choice within 75 miles of the ranch.
• Pick up your beef on the processor’s schedule. Late-pickup storage fees are set by the processor and are your responsibility.
• Delivery of finished beef to your home is available at a per-mile rate quoted in advance.

9. Timing

A deposit reserves your place in line. Steers are ready when they reach a healthy finished weight, not on a fixed date. Grain-finished steers are typically ready at about 18 to 22 months of age, and grass-finished steers at about 24 to 30 months. The ranch keeps you posted and gives you as much notice as it can before the processing date. Weather, drought, processor schedules, and animal health can move the date.

10. Weight and yield

Estimates of live weight, hanging weight, and packaged beef on this website are averages, not guarantees. The amount of beef you take home depends on the animal and on your cut choices. Boneless cuts and leaner trim mean fewer packaged pounds.

11. Care and records

Your steer is raised under the ranch’s herd health program: no antibiotics ever, no added hormones, vaccinated, and dewormed with every label withdrawal time followed, on unmedicated feed only. It carries a permanent number and brand, and you receive its health and management records on request. If your steer ever needs antibiotics, it is treated and removed from the program, and section 5 applies: you receive a replacement steer or a full refund of your deposit.

12. Ownership, risk, and limits

The ranch cares for your steer and carries the risk of loss until it is delivered to the processor. Once the processor accepts the animal, ownership and risk pass fully to you. The ranch is not responsible for the processor’s work, the quality of cuts or packaging, or beef lost after pickup, including from freezer failure or power outages. In no case is the ranch liable for more than the total amount you have paid to the ranch.

13. Questions and changes

Questions about your reservation go to rancherrob@sharpediamondcattle.com. These terms may be updated for future reservations; the version you sign stays in effect for your reservation. These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas.

Ready to reserve? Contact us or email rancherrob@sharpediamondcattle.com.