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From the Pasture by Hired Hand is presented by R3 Hilltop Ranch. Located in Chilton, Texas, R3 Hilltop Ranch has been breeding registered Texas Longhorns since 2006. What began as three heifers has grown into our current herd, which you can explore on our website at r3hilltop.com. We're passionate about loud colors, longhorns, and docile temperaments. But it's the easy keeping, low maintenance traits of Texas Longhorns that initially attracted us and continue to drive our herd growth. In addition to livestock, we proudly offer certified longhorn beef products. Visit r3hilltop.com forward slash beef to learn more. Thank you for listening and enjoy exploring our ranch online at r3hilltop.com.

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Hi there, I'm Molly. And I'm Jamie, and this is our From the Pasture with Hired Hand podcast.

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For 15 years now, we've been proudly helping breeders promote hundreds of thousands of pedigree livestock with our easy-to-use animal management driven website software.

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And let's not forget about Hired Hand Live, where over a million dollars worth of livestock is sold online each year.

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We're excited to bring you market trends, sales data, advice from your fellow breeders, and stories from the ranch.

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Our software makes managing your website and your animals a breeze so you can focus on what you love.

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So let us handle your digital chores while you tune in to another episode of From the Pasture with Hired Hand. Welcome back to From the Pasture with Hired Hand. I'm Molly. And I'm Jamie. And today's episode is one of our favorites every single year. Our end-of-year recap for Hired Hand Live.

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This is where we look back at all of the incredible sales, animals, and breeders who made 2025 such a record-breaking, scroll-stopping, bid button-clicking year.

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If you've ever attended, consigned to, or just tuned in for a sale this year, you are part of it, and we've got some numbers that'll make you proud to be in the Longhorn industry.

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So grab your headphones or sorting stick and settle in. We're counting down the biggest moments, stats, and surprises from Hired Hand Live in 2025. Let's start big.

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In 2025, Hired Hand Live broadcast 24 public sales, from the Eddie Wood Cowtown Classic to kick off the year, all the way through the B and C Show Me Fall sale to end it.

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That's a total of 1,348 lots consigned. And when the death settled, those animals brought in an incredible $8,741,610 in total sales, averaging $6,484 per lot.

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And for those of you wondering, yes, that's up from last year. Specifically, total sales were up 22.6%.

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That total amount sold online was $1,197,100 with an online average of $4,290 per lot. And yes, that too is up from last year. The online average grew by 17.2%. Which just proves what we say every day. People aren't just watching, they're bidding. Exactly. In 2025, we had 548 different registered internet bidders with 326,911 total consignment views. That's up from 317,981. And if you ask us, that's a lot of time spent admiring Longhorns. It really is.

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If we broke it down even more, we'd also see that most people are bidding from their phones, right out in the pasture, the truck, or the comfort of their couch. And even from a shopping store. It's true. And we love it. Let's talk about the sales that had everyone buzzing ringside. It's time for our top five in-person sellers of 2025.

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Coming in at number five from the Texas Longhorn Legacy sale, Cut and Royal Gal, consigned by Gillilin Ranch, sold for $65,000 to the Hangler Floyd Whitlock Partnership.

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When the dust settled after the sale, she had received $987 views. And today, Cut and Royal Gal is proudly featured on the Whitlock Longhorns Hired Hand Powered website, which you can visit at WhitlockLonghorns.com.

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At number four was AM Rose's Ruby from Austin and Savannah Roar. She sold at the Eddywood Cowtown Classic for $69,000 to the Hangler Brett Floyd Whitlock Partnership.

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This girl had serious buzz. She racked up 953 pre-sale views and 1,347 total views by the time the last lot had sold. She actually ended up being our most viewed lot overall of 2025. And if you've seen her photo, you know why. At number three, we had a tie because raising sale-topping longhorns is obviously a competitive business.

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M7 Roses Valentine consigned by M7 Longhorns at the Fort Worth Stockyards Longhorn Auction on Friday, which was lot H33 sold for $70,000 to the Vanderford McIntyre Whitlock Partnership. She had 719 presale views with 905 views at the end of the auction, and she can be found today at WhitlockLonghorns.com.

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And BCR Lucky Charm 913 from Floyd's sold at the Legends Longhorn Sale on Saturday as lot number 25 for $70,000 to the Hangler Chadsmith Phillip Partnership. Today you can visit her in all her glory at 1886longhorns.com.

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At number two, another tie, both on the same stage at the Fort Worth Stockyards Longhorn Auction on Saturday.

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HL Heidi Ho from Hudson Longhorns, who was lot number 13A, sold for $74,000 to Norse Ridge Ranch. She ended the sale with 471 views and can now be seen online at Norserid Ranch.com.

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Helmarissa 253 from Helm Cattle Company was the other animal that placed number two, was lot 37. She sold for $74,000 to SC Longhorns. You can visit her today at Aton and Sandy's website, SCLonghornranch.com. And finally, the number one highest seller of 2025 was a choice embryo heifer from Silar Land and Longhorns. And that embryo was SLL Over the Moon SSL Heads Over Boots, which sold for $80,000 to the Buxton Manning Partnership at the Fort Worth Stockyards Longhorn Auction.

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This slot seemed to be everything: story, genetics, excitement. She pulled in 860 pre-sale views and 1,113 total before the last gavel dropped. And there you have it, those were our top five in-person sales of 2025. And now let's hear from our advertisers.

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Do you sometimes feel like you're the only one who doesn't have it all figured out? Rural life could be isolating, but it doesn't have to be.

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Each week, your hosts, Annalise, that's me, and Courtney will cover topics such as farm life, mom life, making money online, side hustles, hobbies, sharing on social media, jobs off the farm, and so much more.

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Us rural gals need to stick together, so saddle up for some fun, real and unsolicited advice, and stories from our everyday farm lives.

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Grab a drink, we're Ag's Most OKest Farm Girls, and we're here to help. Listen wherever you find podcasts.

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Planning a live auction and want to reach more buyers? Hired Hand Live brings the power of the internet to your event, allowing bidders from anywhere to participate in real time. We specialize in integrating online bidding seamlessly with your live auction, ensuring that no one misses out.

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Your livestock plus our technical expertise equals one successful auction. Let Hired Hand Live help you expand your reach and maximize your results. Visit HiredHandLive.com to learn more.

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Looking for top quality longhorns and a taste of true Texas spirit? Look no further than Cantera Cattle Company. Our passion for longhorns shines at Old Gringo Ranch, where tradition meets excellence. Visit us online at Cantera Cattle Company.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok for the latest updates and ranch life fun. Ready to experience it yourself? Schedule your visit by emailing Canterracattle at gmail.com. Remember, God is great, longhorns are good, and life is crazy.

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Of course, you don't have to be in the barn to make headlines. Let's move on to the top five online sellers of 2025.

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Coming in at number five is GF Lady Lawyer from Glendenning Farms, who sold at the Legends Longhorn Sale on Saturday as lot number 23 for $15,000. And she sold to Jose Cordosa Nito via Hired Hand Live. She had a couple hundred views and nine online bids during the sale. Her new virtual home is Longhorns J7FSLBrazil.com.br.

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And that's a big deal. GF Lady Lawyer shows how Hired Hand Live has gone international, connecting premium genetics with serious buyers outside the US and welcoming newer breeders to the community. Coming in at number four, BRB Longtime Crush from Bob Larson with CR Larson Longhorns at the Legends Longhorn Sale on Friday, lot H10 sold for $18,000 to Chris Clark via Hired Hand Live. She also received a few hundred online views and about a dozen online bids. Today she can be seen at circle doublecranch.com.

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The number three highest selling lot on Hired Hand Live for 2025 was Watson 861, consigned by Wes Watson at the TLBAA Horn Showcase Select sale as lot number 33. She sold for $20,000 to Gwendamato.

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Coming in at number two was DB Mermaids Millie from Diamond Bee Cattle, which sold at the Legends Longhorn Sale on Saturday as lot 15. She sold for $26,000 to Britney Fellows. She was in the 200 range for online views and received 12 different online bids. Today you can view her at brokenoaklonghorns.com.

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Our highest selling lot online of 2025 is Helm Sonato 487 from Helm Cattle Company, who sold at the Fort Worth Stockyards Longhorn Auction on their Friday sale as lot H2. She sold for $32,000. From our list of top online sellers, she received the most views at close to $400 and also had eight competitive online bids. Today you can see her at Bull Creek Longhorns.com.

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These numbers prove that people are confident buying top-tier animals online through trusted sales, auctioneers, and great photography, and maybe a little research via Hired Hand websites.

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And that's exactly what we started Hired Hand Live for. Let's talk about how much online bidding added to the industry this year.

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In 2025, we saw $1,197,100 added through internet bidding with 4,717 bids placed and 279 lots sold online to 140 unique buyers.

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That's 1.2 million worth of longhorns that might not have sold otherwise or might have gone for less without Hired HandLife.

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And that's our behind the bid story: the impact of technology bringing more breeders into the fold, more competition, and more opportunities for everyone involved.

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We even saw bidders from Texas, 45 of them, Missouri, 11, Oklahoma, 8, 6 from Arizona, and we had a tie for five different online bidders from Indiana, Kansas, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington, as well as international buyers from Brazil this year. So the reach of Hired Hand Live just keeps expanding.

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Now let's shift gears into the 2025 NLFR.

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In the heifer race, Horseshoe J Isabel, owned by Jimmy Jones, topped the standings with 3,876.75 points, followed by 7BR Bonita Drag Iron, owned by 7 Brothers Ranch, and 7BR Just Keeper, also owned by 7 Brothers Ranch.

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And on the both side, the title went to M7 Double Jack, owned by Jimmy Jones and Jeff and Masha Wilson. He ended with 3,197.1 points, followed by HL Crown's Pride, owned by Crown Creek Cattle, and Pale Rider CPL, owned by Bryant Cattle Company. The head-to-head championship was held after the Millennium Fraturity this year, and the Heifer head-to-head champion was Heads I Win DSM, owned by Daniel Marchon, and the Bull Head-to-head champion was M7 Double Jack, owned by Jeff and Masha Wilson and Jimmy Jones.

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We love seeing those names, many from having hired hand-powered websites at the top of the NLFR board. If you'd like to dive deeper into the stories behind this year's NLFR champions, check out our special episode featuring Danielle, owner of one of the winning heifers, and Jeff, owner of the Champion Bull. They share incredible insight into what goes into breeding and showing these standout animals.

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For the full leaderboards, dates, and 2026 entry forms, visit huntingtonsales.com. The NLFR site is powered by Hired Hand and it's the best place to keep up to date with the race.

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Now we're going to go over the Hired Hand Monthly Sale Stats. And if you're new to these, here's what our Hired Hand Monthly Sales are.

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Every Hired Hand website customer gets one sale entry per month. You can list any breed of animal or things like skulls, hides, semen, or embryos.

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You control the starting price, reserve, buy now price, and all of the pickup and hauling options.

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We launched this in mid-2023 as a benefit for our website customers. We figured if you sold just one animal, you can essentially cover your hired hand website fees for the year, and then some. Customers who consistently participate have seen fantastic results and have more than paid for their site over and over again.

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The sale runs monthly from 8 a.m. Central Standard Time on the 1st through 10 p.m. Central Standard Time on the last day of the month. Sale entries are taken through forms up until the 15th of the month prior. Sorry, no exceptions.

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Now the 2025 data from January through October. We sold 19 animals for a total of $55,350, averaging $2,913 per lot.

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37% of those sold via buy now, which is a public price set by the seller. Anyone can click buy now to immediately purchase and end the auction at that price.

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That's different from a reserve. A reserve is essentially a secret minimum, the seller won't go below. If the high bid is below the reserve when the auction ends, the lot doesn't sell. The moment bidding exceeds the reserve, even by a dollar, the lot will sell to the highest bidder at closing.

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Another cool trend from 2025 is hearing from lots of our customers participating in our hired hand monthly sale about their animals sold through the sale and how they drove enough traffic to their ranch's website that the animals page landed in their top 10 most viewed pages that month.

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In several cases, it was actually the number one most viewed page, not to mention the in-person visitors it brought to their ranch when the animals were picked up.

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Our highest-selling lot in our monthly sale this year to date at the time of this recording was GLH Dragon Theme. He was a steer who sold for $9,000 and was entered into the sale by website customer Hirschberger Cattle Company. He had over 500 online views and now resides in Brazil and can be found online at Longhornsj7FSibrazil.com.br.

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During our Hired Hand Live customer sale in 2025, to date, we have had 13 different buyers and three customers who sold multiple animals upwards of 17,000 each, and our busiest months were March and October. We're recording this podcast in November and we'll update November and December stats later on on our blog.

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The average age of animals sold through our monthly sales this year was 2.74 years old.

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Participating in our sale is simple and a powerful way to keep the market moving between big live sales.

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Now let's look ahead to 2026. If 2025 was any indication, next year is going to be even bigger.

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We're already booking sales, updating forms, and helping hosts prepare their catalogs. All dates, forms, and catalogs can be found at hiredhandlive.com forward slash sales.

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And if you want to stay in the loop, remember you can get texts before and after every sale. Just text the phrase website.longhorns to the number 888-700-8131 for sale links and results.

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We'll keep the data coming, but more importantly, we'll keep connecting buyers and sellers across the industry.

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From the pasture to the show barn to your phone, we're proud to be a part of every bid, every sale, and every story.

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Here's to another record breaking year in 2026. May your Wi Fi be strong and your bid stronger.

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Thanks for joining us on From the Pasture with Hired Hand. Don't forget to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and check out our full sale reports anytime at hiredhandlive.comslash reports. We'll see everyone next year.