Lamb Prices Beginning To Lose Ground
Lamb prices lost a little ground in several areas this week. Both fat and feeder lambs suffered some declines. Heavy fat lambs held up the best, but some weighing under 120 pounds were dollars off. Conversely, heavyweight feeder lambs lost some of their luster while lightweights held fairly steady.

Packers Roll Fat Market Back Despite Bullish On-Feed Data
Cattle on feed are down 15 percent from last year, June placements down 21 percent, and marketings well within expectations, so naturally the fed cattle market declines, right? No, it’s not right, but it is correct.

Plains Feedlot Sales

Range Sales

Bob Tate Runs Herd Of Cattle, But Horses Have Been His Life
In the shadow of the Big Horn Mountains, snow melt fills Big Goose Creek and the ditches that irrigate Wymont Ranch and its neighbors.

TSGRA Members Vote To Support Passage Of Referendum Again
Endangered species, water rights, private property rights and tax reform were among the perennial topics of discussion here last week at the Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers Association annual convention. Perhaps the issue that drew the most attention, however, was the upcoming sheep referendum.

GOP, Dems Introduce Competing Legislation On Price Reporting
Ranchers would get some help in finding out what meatpackers are paying for cattle under any of three competing proposals now before Congress.

Sheep, Goat Raisers Updated On Lamb Slaughtering Facility
Ranchers’ Lamb of Texas has raised more than $4 million in stock sales, and stock certificates have been issued to investors. And though progress has been slow, progress is being made.

Menzies Receives Earwood Award At Annual TS&GRA Convention
Dr. Carl Menzies, San Angelo, was the recipient of the Fred T. Earwood Award presented here at the recent annual meeting of the Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers Association.

Probe Of Clinton Ag Head Snares Brother
An investigation into former Clinton administration Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy has snared his older brother, Henry, indicted on charges stemming from his failed effort to win a House seat.

Cattle Count Down One Percent In USDA’s Mid-Year Inventory
All cattle and calves in the United States as of July 1 totaled 112 million head by USDA estimate, down one percent from July 1, 1995, but up one percent from the same date two years ago.

Feeder Cattle Price Trend Firm In Lackluster Trade Last Week
Feeder steers and heifers sold steady to firm across the country last week. Although corn prices fell sharply during the week, feeder buyers failed to work up much enthusiasm to move prices any appreciable amount from recent levels.

Cattle On Feed Down 15 Percent July 1 In Seven Leading States
Cattle and calves on feed for slaughter July 1 in the seven leading feeding states totaled 6.58 million head, down 15 percent from July 1 of last year and five percent below the same date in 1994.

Texas Fed Cattle Prices Steady Late Last Week After Standoff
Slaughter steers and heifers sold steady in Texas Panhandle and Western Oklahoma feedlot trading last week, practically selling coming during a brief period on Thursday.

Superior Livestock Video Sale Offering Totals 82,000 Cattle
Superior Livestock Auction offered more than 82,000 feeder cattle in its Weekend in the Rockies VIII video sale Friday and Saturday, July 18 and 19.

Angelo Feeder Cattle Higher, Lambs Steady
Feeder lambs sold steady, slaughter lambs too limited for a test, slaughter ewes firm to $2 higher. Two day receipts totaled 17,810 head.

Brownwood, San Saba, Mason Feeders Mixed
Stocker steer calves sold steady in Mason, Brownwood and San Saba last week, stocker heifers steady to $2 higher, feeder steers and heifers steady, slaughter cows and bulls weak. Receipts totaled 2096 head at the three sales.

Lampasas Feeder Steer, Heifer Prices Higher
Feeder steers and heifers sold $2-4 higher, instances $5-7 up, slaughter cows $1-2 lower, bulls steady. Receipts totaled 1584 head.

U.S. Meat Production 1.3% Above A Year Ago
Total red meat production under federal inspection last week was estimated at 810.4 million pounds, 2.5 percent more than a week earlier and 1.3 percent more than the same week a year ago. Cumulative meat production for the year to date was .9 percent more than the same period last year at 23.6 billion pounds.

Domestic Wool Slow, Foreign Sales Recess
Trading on domestic wool was slow last week, most attention focused on the delivery of previous contracts. In California near 50,000 pounds of 64s, bellies out and untied, sold at 78.5 cents grease f.o.b.

Midyear Sheep Count Continue To Decline
All sheep and lambs in the United States on July 1 were down six percent from a year ago at 10.3 million head. Breeding sheep and lambs on hand were down four percent at 6.17 million head, market sheep and lambs seven percent below a year ago at 4.13 million head.

Cuero Cattle Trade Reported Stronger
Trading was termed active and prices stronger on receipts of 1650 head.

Retail Beef Prices Back Up After Dip
The much-ballyhhoed decline in retail beef prices — which came only after two years of miserable cattle markets and concentrated complaints from cow country to Congress — may prove short-lived. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association says average retail beef prices rose four cents during the past month.

Most Llano Cattle Prices Termed Steady
All represented cattle classes sold steady on receipts of 1121 head.

Most Giddings Steer, Heifer Prices Strong
Choice feeder steers and heifers sold strong to spots $2 higher, high yielding fleshy cows and bulls were $2 higher, pairs and stock cows weak to $20 lower. Receipts totaled 1615 head.

Fredericksburg Feeder Cattle Prices Strong
Feeder steers and heifers sold strong, slaughter cows and bulls lower. Receipts totaled 2567 head.

Kansas Direct Feeder Cattle Steady To Firm
Feeder steers sold steady to firm in Kansas direct trade last week, heifers firm to $1 higher. Weather was hot. Sales were confirmed on 19,087 head.

Hindsight

Unregistered Bull in a Hotel Lobby
Choice gleanings from 45-plus years of Unregistered Bull. 
"I see," said John, "where this hombre Eric Johnston, the Economic Stabilizer, has got sheepmen after him like a bunch of bitin’ sows.

On The Edge Of Common Sense
By Baxter Black
"I'm concerned more Hispanics aren't going into agriculture as a profession." So spoke my old friend, Buddy, Hispanic himself. He was president of the state ag chemical Association. He had three grown children, none of whom showed any interest in their dad or grandad's agricultural livelihoods.

Pokin' Fun
By Doc Blakely
Believe it or not, there are still some places in this country that have party lines. I’m referring to telephones and not politics now. I was invited to speak to a rural telephone cooperative in the Big Sky country where I made these observations. The coop has an annual stockholders meeting that draws people from the woods, lakes, farms, and reservations. Even the Red Man has given up the smoke signal for a party line.

Shortgrass Country
By Monte Noelke
The other morning, like a couple of weeks ago from this writing, I looked down off my horse on the bare ground in my Upper Vinson pasture and spotted a perfect arrowhead. Just a chip was broken off the point. Honor for the ride was an early lamb harvest, or in more specific husbandry terms, the plucking of the green dry weather lambs. The finale of rolling up in the bed sheets worrying over an endless drouth is another way to put it.

The Computer & The Cowboy
By C.A. Rodenberger, Ph. D.
Forget the toll-free 1-800 line for the Internet. Rocky Dean from Sheffield, way out in the boondocks, called me to say he had called the number I gave you to get on DirectNet. They told him that the 800 line would be 10 cents a minute, which is what America On-line is charging me.