Lamb Prices Hold Up Well, Ewes Decline
Only minor up and down price fluctuations occurred around the country this week on fat and feeder lambs. The Easter demand was good this year, and many record prices were established.

Slaughter Cattle Trade Active Until Packers Roll Back Bids
Plains fed cattle trade was fairly brisk early this week, but it drew to a standstill when packers tried to peel a dollar off the steady $62 money and demanded extra days on delivery to boot.

Plains Feedlot Sales

Range Sales

Bountiful Rains Bring Welcome Relief, But Some Pay A Price
Ranchers throughout West Texas have been watching the skies closely for relief from the extremely dry conditions that have prevailed in many areas for months and farther west for years. A large swath of the region saw their prayers answered late last week.

Sorting Pens In The Feedlot Has No Hard And Fast Rules
Dr. Bill Mies with Texas A&M says not to expect a lot of statistics and numbers when he talks about sorting cattle. "You're going to get opinion and bias and damn little science," he says.

Lawmakers Seeking Documents On Russian Chicken Ban Deal
Three senior House Republicans are urging the Clinton administration to turn over documents relating to President Clinton's efforts to restore chicken exports to Russia, a key issue in his home state and of vital importance to one of the president’s most loyal campaign supporters.

Imports Account For 13 Percent Of Domestic Lamb Consumption
For well over 40 years, the U.S. sheep industry has been doing battle with New Zealanders and Australians over imported lamb. It’s a battle that only seems to get more complicated and difficult as world trade agreements rule the markets.

Record Corn Prices No Big Deal To Farmers Who Have None Left
Cornbelt farmers are still a few weeks away from spring planting, so they've been logging time at their home computers this week, watching corn prices soar.

Clinton Signature On Farm Bill Ends Decades Of Federal Rule
For the first time in more than 60 years, farmers this spring will be making their planting decisions without being told by the government what to grow.

Federals Increasingly Rely On Questionable Legal Dodge
Last week before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, a federal government attorney made an astonishing admission in a case involving the ability of the people of northwestern Montana and northern Idaho to challenge a decision of the U.S. Forest Service regarding timber harvesting in the Kootenai National Forest.

Farm Bill Has Sheep, Goat Center Funding
U.S. sheep and goat producers scored a victory in the farm bill process when Congress approved $20 million in mandatory funding to help stabilize the infrastructure of these existing industries. A "National Sheep Improvement Center" was authorized by a joint conference committee and became law last week when President Clinton signed the much-debated ag legislation.

Espy Bribery Probe Broadened By Court
The prosecutor investigating former Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy is widening his probe to include Espy associates who may have taken gifts or payments in return for favorable treatment from the Agriculture Department.

Feeder Cattle Move Lower Again As Corn Prices Set New Records
Feeder cattle and calves sold lower again last week, steers and heifers steady to 2 lower. Calves found less competition as some grass buyers are about done gathering needed numbers to stock pastures. Yearlings destined for feedlots also found slower going with buyers eyeing the ever-rising corn market.

Texas Fed Cattle Trade Steady, Movement Mostly On Wednesday
Slaughter steers and heifers sold steady in Texas Panhandle and Western Oklahoma feedlots last week. Trade was active on Wednesday, slow otherwise. Movement was good with few carryovers.

Superior Livestock Video Sale Offering Totals 16,000 Cattle
Superior Livestock Auction offered more than 16,000 feeder cattle and breeding stock at their regularly scheduled video auction. Consignments were from 16 states.

PMCI To Host Meetings Beginning April 15
Producers’ Marketing Cooperative Inc. is sponsoring a series of meetings, open to all ranchers and persons with an interest in the mohair industry, beginning April 15.

Denny McLanahan Gains Third Place In Bareback Standings
Bareback rider Denny McLanahan of Canadian, Texas is on a roll. The four-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier has moved into third place in the Crown Royal world bareback riding standings with $22,211.

Texas Mohair Board Directors Elected
Results of the election of directors for the recently reactivated Texas Mohair Producers Board were released Tuesday.

Angelo Feeder Lambs Steady, Cattle Soft
Feeder lambs sold steady this week, slaughter lambs too limited to test prices, slaughter ewes $2-5 lower. Receipts totaled 8912 head.

Fredericksburg Feeder Cattle Prices Higher
Feeder steers and heifers sold $1-2 higher, slaughter cows and bulls steady. Receipts totaled 1271 head.

San Saba, Brownwood, Mason Feeders Firm
All weights of feeder cattle sold steady to strong last week in Mason, Brownwood and San Saba, slaughter cows $1-2 lower, bulls steady, stock cows steady and pairs steady to $35 higher. Receipts at the three sales totaled 2114 head.

Lampasas Heifers Off, Feeder Steers Steady
Feeder steers sold steady, heifers $1-3 lower, slaughter cows $1-2 lower, bulls steady, stock cows generally steady. Receipts totaled 900 head.

Coarser Wool Price Outlook Is Dismal
Producers of coarse wool may want to sweep out a back corner of the barn and plan on devoting it to longterm storage. Projections from the nation’s wool-buying capitol indicate both price and demand for wool this year will tumble rapidly as fiber diameter increases.

Kansas Direct Feeder Cattle Show Strength
Feeder steers and heifers sold mostly steady with two weeks earlier, a few steers $1 higher. Sales were confirmed on 9795 head.

Most Goldthwaite Sheep, Goats Steady
A limited number of feeder lambs sold steady, slaughter lambs steady, slaughter ewes and bucks $1-2 higher; Angora goats scarce and steady; Spanish goats steady. Receipts totaled 2500 head.

U.S. Meat Production 4.6% Above A Year Ago
Total red meat production under federal inspection last week was estimated at 814.9 million pounds, two percent more than the previous week and 4.6 percent more than the same week a year ago. Cumulative meat production for the year to date was three percent more than the same period a year ago.

Domestic Wool Slow, Aussie Sales Closed
Trading on domestic wool was slow last week. The undertone was weak, but sales once again were too few for an adequate test. Demand was light, most buyers hesitant to make new purchases.

Loose Ends

Letters To The Editor

Hindsight

Unregistered Bull in a Hotel Lobby
Choice gleanings from 45-plus years of Unregistered Bull.
"Been some time," said John, "since I let my Congressman know I’m still alive and have my poll tax paid, so I’ve taken pen in hand again. See what you think of this one:"

On The Edge Of Common Sense
By Baxter Black
It's a dangerous combination ... the lipstick and the spur. She had her eye on business and I had my eye on her. It's not like you could miss her as she rode in the corral, The rest of us were ravaged in appearance and morale.

Pokin' Fun
By Doc Blakely
In my most recent travels I was privileged to share the platform with Governor Bill Graves of Kansas. At the Kansas Electric Cooperatives meeting, where I have been invited several times, I noticed that the printer of the program had mistakenly hit an extra letter in "Bill," making it "Biill."

Shortgrass Country
By Monte Noelke
A letter from ranch people turned up in a stack of my family’s pictures last week. "Turned back up" is more accurate. The body of the two letters, one from Ferdinand Noelke, the other from Patty Noelke Murphey, said the same thing: "everybody is feeding their sheep and cattle. Nobody expects to mark a good crop. The winds blow day and night. Uncle Tom says to tell you he has a bad cold."

On Matters Of Equine
By Dr. Jim and Lynda McCall
Strolling through the pasture looking at broodmares, a recent visitor asked an unexpected question. "Do you think that a person can smell when a mare is in season and ready to breed?" Without thinking, my immediate response was, "Of course!" But as the words came out of my mouth, my mind’s eye flashed back to another time and place.

Wildlife By Design
By Dale Rollins, Ph.D
"If we only had quail hunting, our deer lease would be like heaven" is the lament of many deer hunters, managers, and landowners in the Edwards Plateau of Texas. Deer may sometimes become a nuisance, and turkeys will scatter feed intended for sheep and goats, but quail are endeared by everyone.