Heavy Fat Lambs Get Discounts
Good growing conditions the past few months have put a lot of easy weight on lambs, and that added weight is causing some difficulty in moving them. Some heavy carcasses are bringing around $10 less than normal weights, and some of the lambs are being backed up in feedlots, which will make them even heavier.

Fed Cattle Trade Three Days, Get Back To $67 At The End
Plains cattle feeders did something this week they haven’t done in a long time — they sold cattle on Monday. Two days later some of them were cussing themselves and each other for doing it.

Plains Feedlot Sales

Range Sales

Former Packing Plant Evolved To Offer Fully Cooked Roasts
Consolidation, concentration and vertical integration are terms that Bernie Hansen understands all too well. Hansen is president of Flint Hills Foods Inc., a family-owned company which specializes in portion controlled meats and prepared entrees like beef jerky, sausages, cheese, and a newly released fully cooked beef pot roast.

Top Man At Regional Fed Bank Supporter Of Free Enterprise
The head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas makes no apology for supporting free enterprise. "I do believe in free enterprise," said Dr. Robert McTeer of the Dallas Fed, speaking here this month as a guest lecturer at Midwestern State University. "It's not just me, but the Dallas Fed."

USDA Officially Confirms Sheep Referendum Failure
USDA has finally released official results of the sheep industry referendum, a full six months after the Oct. 1 vote. The second referendum results showed 53 percent of voters opposed the referendum, while 47 percent favored the checkoff program. Only 674 votes separated the "yes" votes from the "no" votes with 6277 against and 5603 for.

Government, Private Predator Control Programs In Conflict
Predator control on public land has become a thorny, longstanding issue, particularly in five eastern Montana counties that use contracted private trappers on private lands.

CRP Signup Draws Farmers’ Bids To Set Aside 26 Million Acres
Farmers have offered to remove nearly 26 million acres from production and other uses in the government's multibillion-dollar conservation reserve program, says USDA.

Predator Control Program Funds Are Yielding Positive Results
Coyote numbers in the once coyote-free 54-county area of the Texas hill country have continued to increase and expand over the last 30 years. Meanwhile, funding for the animal damage control program has remained fairly constant, and with increasing predator problems ADC personnel simply have not been able to keep up.

EPA Admits Overstating Clean Air Rules Benefits By Third
The Clinton administration had soot all over its face last week when the Environmental Protection Agency was forced to admit that it had greatly exaggerated the supposed health benefits of tough new clean air proposals.

Ethanol Backers Gearing Up To Fight For Their Subsidy
Armed with plans for a nationwide letter-writing campaign and optimistic new research, the industry that makes corn-based fuel is fighting back against an assault on its U.S. tax subsidy.

Most Charges Upheld In Espy Bribe Case
A federal judge has dismissed two charges against a former lobbyist and friend of ex-Clinton administration Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy but left intact more than a dozen charges including arranging illegal campaign contributions.

Feds’ Shift To Planned Burns Ill-Disguised Slap At Loggers
It seems even when the Clinton administration finally does the right thing, it is determined to do it for the wrong reason.

Takings Case Demonstrates Ecos’ Disdain For Rights Of Citizens
When farmers in Oregon were denied irrigation water to which they had a legal right as a result of the federal government's plan to "save" two types of sucker fish, the farmers sued. Asserting that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had violated the Endangered Species Act, they asked a federal judge to stop the government from taking their water.

Texas Senate Passes Water Measure On Unanimous Vote
After years of trying, the Texas Senate last week passed a statewide water management plan on a unanimous vote. It took a widespread drouth to get it done, and testament to the freshness of the drouth in legislators’ memories is the fact that much of Central and Southeast Texas was under flood warnings as the votes were cast.

Koch Beef, Flint Hills Outline Joint Venture
Koch Beef Company, a division of Koch Agriculture Company, this week announced a joint venture with Flint Hills Foods to market processed, portion-controlled and fully cooked meats to retail and food service distributors.

Idaho Anti-Livestock Activist May Have Found Magic Formula
Longtime anti-grazing gadfly Jon Marvel may have accomplished through a friendly federal judge what he couldn’t accomplish through Idaho’s State Land Board.

USDA Puts Europeans On Notice That Meat Imports Will Cease
The deadline on years of negotiations ran out last week, and the U.S. government put the European Union on notice that imports of meat from the EU will no longer be allowed.

ADM Officials’ Price Fix Trial Scheduled
A judge has set a spring 1998 trial date for three former Archer Daniels Midland Co. executives charged with conspiring to fix worldwide prices for the livestock feed supplement lysine.

Angelo Feeder Lambs Firm, Cattle Higher
Feeder and slaughter lambs sold firm this week, slaughter ewes $1-2 higher. Receipts totaled 9235 head.

Hales Angus Bull Sale Average $2825
The Hales Angus bull and female production sale included 70 bulls that averaged $2825 each, 32 cows averaging $1405, 24 open yearling heifers at $1352 and one flush that brought $5000.

San Saba, Brownwood, Mason Cattle Steady
Feeder steers and heifers sold steady to strong in Mason, Brownwood and San Saba last week, slaughter cows and bulls steady and stock cows in good demand. Receipts totaled 1499 head at the three sales.

Mock Cattle Drive Goes Awry In KC
More than 100 cattle in a mock cattle drive ending at a steak house carved their own route through downtown here last week.

Unregistered Bull in a Hotel Lobby
Choice gleanings from 45-plus years of Unregistered Bull.
John came forth this week with another letter for his Congressman:
"Dear Duly Elected: "In the past, I’ve been sort of critical of you, and this is to let you know I hope your feelings aren’t hurt too bad. Maybe you’ll understand that if we’d get some rain in this country, a lot of us down here would be in a better humor.

On The Edge Of Common Sense
By Baxter Black
Johnny was a mule man, which says a lot to me.
His motto: keep it simple. Lay it out for me to see.
If a kid can't understand it, it's pro'bly bound to fail.
He'd rather have a good man's word than a contract in the mail.

Pokin' Fun 
By Doc Blakely
What's in a name? Apparently plenty, because people go to a lot of trouble to select them for places, things and people.

Shortgrass Country
By Monte Noelke
On today's market, an 1100 pound dry cow converts into 250 or so pounds of beef wrapped for the freezer. Average price for retail cuts at the supermarkets runs much higher. Butchers claim the competition from exports to Japan determines the price of ribeye. Once the Japanese come in the market, steaks go up immediately, so hamburger and brisket find the big action.