Feeder Lamb Prices Hold, Fats Stumble
Feeder lambs held fairly steady this week on rather limited volume. Slaughter lambs were lower following another $3-5 decline on carcasses. Slaughter ewes were softer in the Midwest except at Sioux Falls, which was as much as $5 higher on Wednesday. Ewes in Texas were higher.

Fed Cattle Rally Was Brief; Plains Prices Decline Again
The rally in fed cattle prices lasted just about as long as a can of peanuts at a beer bust. After elbowing a dollar out of packers last week, Plains feedlots gave most or all of it back this week.

Plains Feedlot Sales

Range Sales

Russian Immigrant Made A Name In Packing Business In Iowa
Morton Bookey knows just about all there is to know about the cattle industry because he’s been a player in most every segment for well over 60 years. His father, Harry, started Bookey Packing Company in 1930. For almost 40 years the company remained in family hands, competing early on against the likes of Swift, later IBP and Monfort, and growing from an initial kill capacity of 35 head a day to 1500 head a day.

Turner Ranches Run Buffalo For Profit, Not As A Hobby
By David Bowser
Russ Miller enjoys his work. Born in Kansas, reared in California, he graduated from Montana State University with an English degree. Today, he manages Turner Ranches.

Proposed Texas Scrapie Plan Would Limit Infected Imports
The health and product development committee of the Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers Association has developed proposed regulations to control the movement of scrapie-infected sheep into Texas. The regulations will be presented in resolution form at the summer TS&GRA meeting in July.

Ethanol Subsidy Gains New Life In Both House, Senate
House leaders tentatively agreed last Friday to retain the federal tax break for ethanol through 2000, reversing an earlier vote by the chamber's tax-writing committee to kill it.

Wyoming Governor Says Ranches Are Real "Endangered" Species
Wyoming's working ranches are becoming an endangered species because of development in rural areas and the growing number of "hobby" ranches, according to Gov. Jim Geringer.

Wheatland Stocker Conference Scheduled August 15 At Enid
Cattle producers interested in the latest information on ways to help make stocker operations as profitable as possible may find what they’re looking for at the 1997 Wheatland Stocker Conference here Aug. 15.

VS Virus Found In New Mexico, Following Flareup In Arizona
Two Valencia County stables were placed under quarantine after two horses were diagnosed with vesicular stomatitis, a contagious virus that causes blistering of mouths and hooves.

Utah Counties, School Land Authority Challenge Clinton
Utah officials aren’t taking President Bill Clinton’s 1.7 million acre "September Surprise" land grab lying down.

Spurned Union Threatens Halt To Grain Plant With EPA Help
A union's threats to sabotage a key environmental permit for a $250 million grain plant because it wants the company to hire union workers shows a new approach more effective than traditional picketing against a company, a national labor expert said last week.

Arizona Grazing, Water Plan Anticipated Judge’s Ruling
Ranchers, environmental activists and public land managers are on the same page on proposed new water-quality rules for public land grazing in Arizona: Don't expect any big changes.

Behavior Can Provide Warning Of Heat Stress Among Horses
Daytime temperatures for Oklahoma and other southwestern states are soaring upward into the 90s and approaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit; that means horse owners will need to monitor their animals closely.

Cattle Feeders Nix Further Plans For Marketing Co-Op
For the second time in 10 years, the Texas Cattle Feeders Association has decided against forming a marketing cooperative.

Livestock Disaster Payments Available
Producers in the Upper Midwest who lost livestock during this year's natural disasters can begin signing up for $50 million in disaster aid at the end of the month, Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said.

Angelo Feeder Lambs, Cattle Trade Steady
Feeder lambs sold steady this week, slaughter lambs too limited to test, slaughter ewes $1-3 higher. Receipts totaled 11,866 head.

Lightweight San Saba Feeder Steers Higher
Feeder steers sold steady to strong except weights under 475 pounds, which were $1-3 higher, and over 800 pounds, which were $1-3 lower; heifers were steady, slaughter cows and bulls $1-4 higher, bred stock cows active. Receipts at Mason, San Saba and Brownwood totaled 2014.

Unregistered Bull in a Hotel Lobby
Choice gleanings from 45-plus years of Unregistered Bull.
"One of the worst things about this livestock market," said John, "is everybody’s confusion as to why it dropped so hard so quick. Whenever you meet anybody, if you don’t beat him to it, the first thing he’ll ask you is what caused it all.

On The Edge Of Common Sense
By Baxter Black
The big boy land developers hired them a wornout hack
To go and buy the water rights off farmers down the track.
"Just pay 'em anything they ask. Hell, any price on earth.
Those farmers haven't qot a clue of what it's really worth."
"Them's fightin' words," the farmer said. "This water ain't for sale
It's all that keeps this place alive. Without it crops would fail."

Pokin' Fun
By Doc Blakely
All across this country I see multicolored signs, mostly in the smaller towns, that proclaim a divine ability on the part of the advertiser to heal by faith, foretell the future or give advice to the lovelorn.

Shortgrass Country
By Monte Noelke
Rain fell so fast the other night in Mertzon, two lightning bugs were trapped in the gauge behind my house. Reflection off the glass tube, a distress signal, I suppose, was strong enough to be seen from the kitchen window some 30 feet away. I thought at first a kid playing with a flashlight had come through the back way.