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| Vol. 49 - No. 3 | Thursday, January 23, 1997 | $25 Per Year |
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Lamb Prices Go
Through The Ceiling
Fat and feeder lamb prices reached new plateaus
this week as if records are made to be broken. Fat lambs
moved up as much as $5 with feeder lambs not far behind;
in fact, some prices were as much as $10 up. Slaughter
ewes were higher in most areas, though Texas markets
turned softer.
Fed Cattle
Trade Stands Still As Feedlots Hold Firm For $66
Plains fed cattle movement was virtually nil at
midweek as packers bid a dollar lower at $65 and feedlots
held out for a steady $66. The general view in the trade
was that the packers would blink first.
Howard Melvin
Has Spent Half Of His 95 Years On One Ranch
A triangular-shaped cloud glows red in the
pre-dawn Colorado sky like a bloody dagger pointed toward
the front range of the Rocky Mountains as Donna Taylor
takes the mechanical Japanese pony out to start gathering
cattle in the 1800 acre east pasture.
Fire
Increasingly Recognized As Key To Control Of Juniper
It’s readily apparent that Texas rangelands are
being invaded by a variety of unwanted brush species. For
decades mesquite was the primary target of ranchers and
range professionals, but the focus has shifted, in large
part, to cedar, perhaps an even tougher challenge.
Controversial
Head Of USDA Nutrition Office To Resign
Ellen Haas, the Clinton
administration agriculture undersecretary who drew fire
for her spending practices and partisan maneuvering, will
step down Feb. 14.
Embattled
USDA Meat Inspector Resigns
Bill Lehman, the embattled federal meat inspector
from Sweetgrass, has announced his retirement, ending an
eight-year confrontation with the U.S. Department of
Agriculture.
Protected
Condor Killed By Eagle
Oops! What do you do when one government-protected beast
kills another government-protected beast? Shrug,
apparently; there’s no human to blame. One of six
California condors released last month into the canyons
of northern Arizona is dead, apparently killed by a
golden eagle.
Another Big
Backer Bites Dust In Scandal Over Clinton USDA
A former Montana man who ran a Montana-based crop
insurance company faces up to 40 years in prison for
laundering campaign contributions in an effort to gain
influence with former Clinton administration agriculture
secretary Mike Espy.
Bills
Introduced To Stop IRS From Taxing Deferred Income
Farmers again could postpone income tax bills by
deferring installment payments they receive for
commodities if Congress approves a bill pushed by several
Republicans.
BLM Says
Grazing Fees Won’t Change
Because of continued low beef prices and high
production costs, federal grazing fees in 16 western
states will not increase in 1997.
USDA Agrees To One
Standard To Determine CRP Eligibility
A single Department of Agriculture standard for land that
is highly prone to erosion will avoid a possible
"red tape nightmare," says Sen. Pat Roberts,
R-Kan. "I think we won a victory," Roberts said
last week.
Bullock Points
Out Inequities In "Robin Hood" School Funding
Lt. Governor Bob Bullock said late last week that an
analysis of nearly 100 school districts required by the
"Robin Hood" law to share property tax money
with Texas' poorer school districts shows more than half
have per capita personal income below the state average.
Livestock
Losses To Blizzards Still Uncounted On The Plains
Receding water has given West Coast farmers and
ranchers a look at how much damage floods have caused
there, but assessing livestock losses from Plains
blizzards is going to take a little longer.
Price-Fixer ADM
Still Contracting With USDA
The U.S. Agriculture Department signed a
compliance agreement with Archer Daniels Midland Co. last
week that will allow the company to continue doing
business with the government after pleading guilty to
price-fixing charges last fall.
Ranchers To
Get Help Feeding Livestock In Blizzard Areas
Don and Estelle Lawson have watched five blizzards
blow by this winter. They've survived each one. Some of
their cattle have not.
Angelo Feeder
Lambs, Cattle Trade Higher
Feeder lambs sold $6-10 higher this week, slaughter lambs
firm to $2 higher and slaughter ewes weak to $2 lower.
Receipts totaled 1249 head.
On The Edge Of
Common Sense
By Baxter Black
Dr. Fosse, once of Pretoria, commented that most
of my stories involved wrecks. I said I think it's the
nature of the business. Matter of fact, I said, you could
haul a bunch of cowboys from the U.S. to South Africa,
turn 'em loose on the savannah and they'd be in a wreck
as quick as one of 'em broke out his lasso.
Unregistered Bull
in a Hotel Lobby
Choice gleanings from 45-plus years of
Unregistered Bull.
"Everybody," said John, "seems to be
excited about President Truman’s new budget. I got
pretty worked up about it myself at first. Here I’ve
just got through signing a bunch of notes so I could pay
last year’s taxes, and now I’ve got to try to
get hold of enough dough to make the first payment on
higher taxes this year.
Pokin' Fun
By Doc Blakely
In the Gregg County Airport, near Longview,
Texas, I met a fellow who was complaining about the cold,
blue norther that had plunged the temperature down below
the chill factor of a fat Eskimo. When I told him that we
should be thankful because up north they are having
snowstorms and below-zero weather, he replied,
"Yeah, but that's why we live down here, ain't
it?"
Shortgrass
Country
By Monte Noelke
Year-end reports on predator control proved how
fast the problem is increasing in the shortgrass country.
Herders of stoic natures bemoaned the losses and the
futility of fighting an over-matched battle. Just the
figures from three counties showed the seriousness of the
threat to sheep and goat producers. Not only were
bobcats, coyotes and red fox increasing, but the heavier
weight killers, the panthers, were also added to the
list.