Prices Drop On Slaughter Sheep, Lambs
Feeder lambs held fairly stable around the country this week, though more emphasis was noted on weight brackets. Heavy lambs held up the best while lightweights came under a little pressure.

Standoff In Fed Cattle Market Eases Briefly At $63 Wednesday
It was another one of those "window of opportunity" weeks that has become so common in the fed cattle trade. Packers sat on their hands until about midday Wednesday, offering $62 bids they knew no one would accept. Finally, led by Excel, they upped the ante to $63 and began buying. They kept at it only long enough to meet immediate needs, however, then got in their cars and went home.

Plains Feedlot Sales

Range Sales

Browns Began With Herefords, Now Run A Rainbow Of Breeds
R.A. "Rob" Brown Jr.’s family has been breeding registered cattle for four generations. Today they maintain registered herds of Simmental, Angus, Red Angus, Senepol, Simbrah, Senegus and several composite herds.

Drouth To Be With Texas Producers For Some Time
Compared with the rest of the state, semi-arid northwest Texas has been a tropical paradise recently with a steady dose of fairly consistent rainfall.

Cree, Chippewa Tribes Produce Natural Beef From Reservation
In the shadow of the Bear Paw Mountains, the Cree and Chippewa tribes are returning to nature.

San Antonio Makes Good Example In Discussion Of Urban Sprawl
Urban sprawl is common terminology in the vocabulary of most developers, builders, conservationists and environmentalists, and like most metropolitan areas, San Antonio is no stranger to the problem.

West Texans Pan USAF Plans To Boost Low-Level Flights
Citizens in remote West Texas aren’t happy about a United States Air Force proposal to modify airspace for training by military aircraft. The plan would increase both the area used for training and the frequency of flights.

EU Bans Consumption Of Sheep, Goat Brains
European Union Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler announced plans last week to ban the brains of slaughtered sheep and goats from the human food chain throughout the EU amid fears of a link between mad cow disease and sheep and goats. But EU farm ministers insisted the plan was precautionary, designed to shore up consumer confidence in meat.

NCBA Wants Congress To Seek Beef Trade Oversight By USDA
The Senate should act swiftly to adopt a resolution urging the Secretary of Agriculture to increase monitoring of anti-trust violations in the beef packing industry and to increase domestic, import and export price reporting, says the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.

Sierra Club Demanding Instant Limits On Edwards Aquifer Use
The Sierra Club has stepped up the tempo in its effort to control pumping from the Edwards Aquifer.

Steer Wrestler To Be Inducted Into ProRodeo Hall Of Fame
John W. Jones Jr., a three-time world champion, threw three steers in 21.9 seconds to win the steer wrestling title and $4842 at the recent California Rodeo in Salina.

Rancher-Lawmaker Layton Black Leaves House For AG Position
Count another casualty of Texas' prolonged drouth. Rep. Layton Black, an Angora goat producer who recently sold the last of his livestock, announced late last week that he will resign from the Texas House to become top legislative liaison for state Attorney General Dan Morales.

Nation’s Feeder Cattle Price Trends Highly Mixed Last Week
Feeder calves were generally steady to $2 higher across the country last week, but yearlings were steady to $2 lower, instances $3 off.

ADM Stonewalls On Price-Fix, Settlement Approved Anyway
A federal judge gave final approval Friday to a $45 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit accusing Archer Daniels Midland Co. and competitors of fixing prices for an animal feed supplement that speeds muscle growth.

Grazing To Give Way, Says Clinton BLM Head
Ranching will continue to play a major role in the operation of U.S. Bureau of Land Management land, but not at the expense of recreation interests, according to the BLM's acting director.

World Grain Planting Forecast To Be High
World grain production in 1996-1997 is expected to exceed consumption for the first time in four years, the U.S. Agriculture Department says.

Top Scoring Billy Brings $1900, Sonora Test Sale Average $376
The annual Angora billy performance test sale last week at the Sonora Experiment Station averaged $376.19 on 21 head, down from last year’s average of $481.62 on 34 head.

Texas Fed Cattle Prices Fall In One-Day Trading Last Week
Slaughter steers and heifers sold mostly $1 lower in Texas Panhandle and Western Oklahoma feedlot trading last week, a few $2 off late. Most trading was done in a short period on Wednesday.

Beef Producers To Discuss Beef Checkoff By Satellite
Beef producers will have the unrivaled attention of beef industry leaders to discuss the beef checkoff program from 7 to 9 p.m. Aug. 22 during a satellite Town Hall Meeting.

Angelo Feeder Lambs Weak, Cattle Firm
Feeder lambs sold steady to weak this week, slaughter lambs too few for a test. Slaughter ewes made up well over half the supply and sold $5-10 lower. Receipts totaled 15,360 head.

Junction Sells 10,000 Sheep, Goats Monday
Receipts totaled 10,000 head. No trend comparison was available because of the lack of a market reporter at recent sales.

Kansas Direct Feeder Cattle Steady To Weak
Feeder steers sold steady to weak in Kansas direct trade last week, heifers steady to firm. Western Kansas had 2-8 inches rain. Sales were confirmed on 10,797 head.

Most El Reno Lambs Steady Last Week
Feeder lambs sold mostly steady, instances higher on weights under 60 pounds, slaughter lambs not well tested, slaughter ewes $6-10 higher. Receipts totaled 430 head.

Brownwood, San Saba, Mason Steady To Up
Stocker steer and heifer calves sold steady last week in Mason, Brownwood and San Saba, steer yearlings steady and heifers steady to $2 higher, slaughter cows and bulls steady to $1 higher. Stock cows were steady to $10 higher and pairs steady to $25 higher. Receipts at the three sales totaled 2588 head.

Fredericksburg Feeder Cattle Trade Strong
Feeder steers and heifers sold strong, slaughter cows and bulls $2-3 higher. Receipts totaled 2596 head.

Domestic Wool Quiet, Foreign Sales Closed
Domestic wool trading was quiet last week, most attention focused on delivery of previous contracts.

Lampasas Feeder Steer, Heifer Prices Steady
Feeder steers and heifers sold steady, slaughter cows and bulls steady. Receipts totaled 1835 head.

Rains Improve Demand For Giddings Cattle
Recent rains improved demand for all classes of cattle, and prices were termed steady to strong, instances $1-3 higher. Receipts totaled 1093 head.

Llano Feeder Steers Higher, Heifers Off
Feeder steers sold fully steady to $2 higher, heifers steady on lightweights, $2 lower on heavies, slaughter cows $2-3 higher, bulls steady to $2 higher. Receipts totaled 928 head.

Buck Tops TAGRA Sale At $1500, Doe $600
The high selling buck at the 77th annual Texas Angora Goat Breeders Association show and sale brought $1500. 

Dan Taylor Honored At Cheyenne Rodeo
Longtime rodeo supporter Dan Taylor, Doole, Texas, was honored over the weekend at the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo for a half-century of service to rodeo contestants.

U.S. Meat Production 3.7% Below A Year Ago
Total red meat production under federal inspection last week was estimated at 779.9 million pounds, 4.1 percent less than the previous week and 3.7 percent less than a year ago. Cumulative meat production for the year to date at 24.4 billion pounds was .8 percent more than for the same period last year.

Cuero Cattle Higher In Active Trading
Cattle prices were higher in active trading on receipts of 2409 head.

Hindsight

Letter To The Editor

Unregistered Bull in a Hotel Lobby
Choice gleanings from 45-plus years of Unregistered Bull. 
"Well," said John, "it looks like politics is about to pick up. I see where Wilbur Lee O’Daniel, the Texas Wonder, has admitted he’s ready to sacrifice himself on the altar of public service if people insist on him being president. At the same time, a survey indicates Truman’s popularity is on the upswing again and has already climbed past zero. Time we get one or two more in the race, things oughta get plumb dramatic.

On The Edge Of Common Sense
By Baxter Black
It could only happen to a cowboy. Thurman has established himself as a figure of some note in the Corriente Association. The association has developed over the years into a successful representative of livestock people dedicated to breeding and supplying roping steers.

Pokin' Fun
By Doc Blakely
It's amazing how many things are sold around the world by a fragrance.Lovers are attracted by different scents according to their culture. Rancid butter drives the boys wild when smeared in the hair of an Australian aborigine girl. 

Shortgrass Country
By Monte Noelke
The Sunday evening before the last feeder calf sale out at Producers, a friend and I went by to check her calves. A light rain had fallen in San Angelo; the pungency of corrals and cattle filled the air. While she looked for her cattle I wandered into the empty building and climbed to the landing overlooking the lobby. I sat down on the stairs and decided to reopen the scene to a sale day of my choice.

Wildlife By Design
By Dale Rollins, Ph.D
Where have all the heroes gone? The inception of color TV and politically incorrect sitcoms hailed the demise of Lucas McCain, but I bid him goodby only begrudgingly. "The Rifleman" was, and still is, one of my heroes. Ditto for Marshall Dillon and Beaver Cleaver. And to prove that print media also loses its legends, the list grew even longer with the retirement of "The Far Side" cartoonist Gary Larson about a year ago.