 |
 |
| Vol. 48 - No. 6 | Thursday, February 8, 1996 | $25 Per Year |
|
Fat, Feeder Lamb
Prices Steady To Up
Both fat and feeder lambs enjoyed good demand
again this week with steady to much higher prices. Bad
weather slowed Texas trading somewhat, and packers are
reportedly scrambling to fill orders. Slaughter ewes
ranged from steady to a dollar or two higher.
Fed Cattle
Steady At $63; Trade Came Alive Wednesday
Packers couldn’t hold out this week like they have
for the last several, but neither could feedlots exert
enough pressure to add anything to the price. As a
result, fed cattle traded briskly through the Plains on
Wednesday, but at a steady $63 rather than the higher
prices that sellers had hoped for.
Consumer Needed
To Pull Wool Industry Out Of Stalemate
The consumer is the only one who can pull the wool
industry out of its current stalemate. So said Eric
Whittington, raw wool purchasing and evaluation manager
for Wellman Industries, to participants in the wool track
education session at the recent American Sheep Industry
Association meeting here.
Texas Land Values
On Rebound, Some Areas More Than Others
Some parts of rural Texas are seeing a stampede of land
buyers and as a result, climbing prices. Statewide, the
median price for Texas ranch and crop land jumped 12
percent to $701 an acre last year from $625 in 1993,
according to preliminary findings of a survey of land
sales by Charles Gilliland, a research economist at the
Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University in College
Station.
Cattle Cycle Peak
Expected In 1997, Analyst Predicts
The current cattle market isn’t a rosy
picture, but there’s always some good news to be
found among the bad. Cattle Fax Executive Vice President
Topper Thorpe told participants in the annual Cattle Fax
meeting here that the end of the bad market is at least
in sight, though still a long way down the road. Cattle
Fax met in conjunction with the recent National
Cattlemen’s Association convention.
Researcher
Explains Rangeland Evolved With Grazing Pressure
To Wayne Burkhardt, cattle on Idaho rangelands
aren't intruders into an otherwise pristine environment.
They're "surrogate grazers," taking the place
of the elephants, mammoths, rhinos, camels, horses,
burros, ground sloths and prehistoric cattle that
preceded them.
Farm Bill
Still In Limbo As Democrats Block Action
Farmers looking for planting guidance from
Congress have three weeks to wait after Democrats in both
the House and Senate shot down hopes of having a farm law
passed last week.
California Governor
Seeks Leeway On ESA
California Gov. Pete Wilson may try to make suspensions
of the state Endangered Species Act automatic during
emergencies stemming from natural disasters.
Angelo Lambs Up
$2, Cattle To $2 Lower
Slaughter lambs were $5-7 higher and feeder lambs
firm to $2 higher here Tuesday, slaughter ewes also firm
to $2 higher. One day receipts totaled 4510 head.
On The Edge Of
Common Sense
By Baxter Black
Carol's story is just another glamorous tale of
a city girl who married a romantic Nebraska Sandhills
rancher 17 years ago and became a 'vocational COW
assistant' for life.
Unregistered Bull
in a Hotel Lobby
Choice gleanings from 45-plus years of
Unregistered Bull.
While John and I were loafing in our usual places the
other day, a well-dressed stranger came into the lobby,
looked around awhile and took a seat next to John. Before
he’d been there long he introduced himself to John
and gave him a card. John immediately got half the
tobacco from a cigarette in his guzzler. He turned white
and then broke down in a coughing fit that seemed for a
minute it would be fatal.
Pokin' Fun
By Doc Blakely
Here it is Valentine's Day again and I overheard
the fellows down at the barber shop talking about the
price of chocolate and flowers.
Shortgrass
Country
By Monte Noelke
The least known unsolved mystery around Mertzon
was one reported once before of my son John being
hijacked of his third grade report card on a three-block
walk to the house. The robbery became a serial-type
crime. Several semesters into college passed before a
grade report appeared again bearing his name.
Eau De Roadkill
Common Scent For Valentine In West Texas
By Dale Rollins
It's Valentine's week and love is in the air ...
especially if you're a skunk. And, as we humans can
attest, love can be a risky business producing more than
its share of casualties. Perhaps skunks feel the same
way. That will become painfully obvious as you drive the
state's highways during mid to late February, which is
the rutting season for Pepe le Pew.