Fat Lamb Prices Edge Downward
Slaughter lambs lost a couple of dollars on most markets this week while the dressed trade held about steady. Most fat lambs are still bringing several dollars above the quoted carcass price. The carcass from a $104 live lamb has a cost of about $208. Putting on $6 freight to get it to either coast and then selling it for $190 doesn’t make too many cents.

Brief Burst Of Midweek Trade Saw Fed Cattle Steady At $68
The fat cattle trade showed all the signs of advanced rigor mortis through Wednesday morning as packers and feeders stood each other off over a gulf of from $1 to as much as $5. Then the two sides bumped together somewhere near the middle at about noon, and tens of thousands of head of cattle changed hands in a brief flurry of activity.

Plains Feedlot Sales

Range Sales

Economists Review P&S Captive Supply Study At Pricing Meet
The continued trend toward packer concentration, especially for fed cattle, and the increased use of non-cash-market procurement methods, commonly called captive supplies, has many producers, economists and policymakers concerned about livestock pricing and procurement practices by meatpackers.

Bronc Rider Denny McLanahan Living Dream On Rodeo Circuit
Oblivious to the activity around him, Denny McLanahan eases himself down over the horse, slips his hand into the rigging, and with a nod of his head 1000 pounds of a bareback bronc named Slivers explodes from behind the red gate of chute number three and into the arena at the Astrodome.

EU Meat Promotion Gathering Will Question Vegetarianism
Trading competitors — including U.S. cattlemen stung by a transparent ban on beef produced with growth hormones — may gnash their teeth over protectionist policies of the European Union. But nobody can claim the EU’s promotion of its industries is half-hearted, and U.S. producers might even wish their own government could show a little of the same supportive spirit.

Texas Animal Health Commission Postpones EIA Rule Enforcement
Meeting here recently, commissioners for the state's livestock health agency have put on hold until July 1 the compliance and enforcement activities for new regulations aimed at equine infectious anemia, a viral disease of horses, asses, mules, donkeys and zebras.

Feds Cite Racing Champ Unser For Straying During Blizzard
The U.S. Forest Service has filed charges against racing champion Bobby Unser for straying into a federal wilderness area during a blizzard that almost cost him and a companion their lives.

Hatch Wants Answers On Utah Roads Issue
In a meeting with U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno last week, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, asked that the Department of Justice re-evaluate its involvement in Utah's public lands issue.

Presto, Changeo: Yogurt Is Now Meat
Children will soon be getting yogurt instead of meat in school lunches under a change approved by the U.S. Agriculture Department over the strong objections of cattle producers.

USDA Head Claims Budget Bill Would Scuttle Farm Payments
In keeping with the Clinton administration’s opposition to the balanced budget amendment, Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman is warning that it could force drastic cuts in payments that agriculture producers think are guaranteed.

Governor Criticizes Babbitt For Shirking Buffalo Duties
Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt ignored his own agency's responsibility when he asked Montana's congressional delegation to stop the killing of Yellowstone National Park buffalo, Montana Gov. Marc Racicot said Friday.

Empty Nest Threatens Huge Fireworks Show
Environmental extremism is finally coming back to haunt the cities that spawned it. For decades, urban armchair environmentalists have increasingly meddled in the lives of rural people hundreds or thousands of miles away; now the effects of their zealoutry are coming home to roost.

Babbitt Approves Wolf Release Scheme In Arizona, New Mexico
The Clinton administration once again has ignored the concerns of stockmen and others in the productive sector in favor of environmental activists. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt last week approved the release of Mexican grey wolves in Arizona and New Mexico.

BLM Law Enforcement Rewrite Withdrawn Under Opposition
Facing a firestorm of opposition from western lawmakers, the U.S. Interior Department announced this week that it would withdraw its plan to revamp law enforcement rules for the Bureau of Land Management.

Takings Of Private Property Receiving Renewed Attention
Property rights advocates may have found the perfect poster child in Bernadine Suitum. As the 82 year-old Lake Tahoe landowner looked on from her wheelchair last week, most Supreme Court justices voiced sympathy for thwarted efforts to build a home on her property.

Declines In Wool Production Bode Well For Price Recovery
U.S. wool production declined an additional 10.7 percent in 1996 as the U.S. wool industry continues its concentration with the elimination of the wool incentive program. Size of the total U.S. flock fell to 7.94 million head on January 1, 1997, down six percent from an inventory of 8.46 million head on January 1, 1996.

Texas Ag Head Offers Conservation Proposal
Low-interest loans, tax credits and expanded use of native plants are some ideas being pushed by Texas Agriculture Commissioner Rick Perry as ways to conserve water.

Angelo Feeder Lambs Mixed, Cattle Steady
Newcrop feeder lambs sold on a firm undertone this week with no good comparison available, oldcrop lambs $2-5 lower, slaughter lambs steady to $1 lower, slaughter ewes steady. Receipts totaled 9378 head.

On The Edge Of Common Sense
By Baxter Black
When Sam was just a kid down in Palo Pinto he became acquainted with Mr. Wilfong. Mr. Wilfong was a legend in the Texas town, a cow buyer for 30 years who prided himself on buying animals one at a time. "Makes you pay attention," he'd say.

Unregistered Bull in a Hotel Lobby
Choice gleanings from 45-plus years of Unregistered Bull.
"One thing I’ve been wondering about," said John, "is whether we livestock people have formed too strong a habit of blaming the government for everything that happens."

Pokin' Fun
By Doc Blakely
Tommy R. is a lawyer in DeQuincy, Louisiana. Once in a while, he likes to take a trip to Las Vegas to relax. He once got so relaxed he lost a weekend up there, along with the family farm.

Wildlife By Design
By Dale Rollins, Ph.D
March marks the month for rattlesnake roundups. Maybe that's why I'm looking forward to April. Personally, I've always gotten a bigger "buzz" from calling tom turkeys than from visions of viboras.

Letters To The Editor