MISERABLE CONDITIONS greeted penned cattle and visitors alike last week during a rainy field day stop on the Spade Ranch's Wagon Creek division near Throckmorton. The visitors, livestock folks by and large, voiced no complaints about the weather. No one asked the cattle, who will enjoy the results soon enough.

Lamb Prices Continue To Move Upward
Dressed lamb prices on the East Coast continued their upward movement last week and the spread between weight brackets is getting smaller.

Plains Fed Cattle Recover $1 On Large Trade Volume
Tighter numbers earned Plains fed cattle a dollar this week and put

PLAINS FEEDLOT SALES

RANGE SALES

Bovine Respiratory Diseases Costly But Complex Problem
Bovine respiratory disease continues to be a major challenge for the beef industry. A recent survey found that respiratory disease accounted for 31.1 percent of calf deaths. Its economic impact was $644 million dollars.

NCBA Proposes Cash Settlement Contract To CME For Approval
There has been much discussion in recent years about what some view as problems with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle contract, particularly the delivery process.

Enforcement Powers Are Key Elements In New Water Law
The legislature's title for Article 3 should put the word "Enforcement" first, because this section of Senate Bill 1 begins with the authority of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission to impose substantial new fines.

Producers Share Goat Feeding Experiences At TSGRA Seminar
Meat goats are a much more valuable and profitable commodity today than they were a decade ago.

Skeen Wants Anti-Grazing Ruling Appealed By USDA
A New Mexico congressman who is a rancher himself has urged the U.S. Forest Service to appeal a federal circuit court order that could uproot grazing permits on about half the allotments in New Mexico and Arizona.

UPS Strike Working Hardship On Out-Of-The-Way Stockmen
When Jim Smid needs veterinary supplies for sick cattle on the ranch he manages, he relies on United Parcel Service deliveries, as do many isolated ranchers in the West.

Tom Lineberry Says Favorite Cow Horse Smarter Than Him
Tom Lineberry does not readily gush with praise for anyone or anything. There is, however, one grand exception ... his beloved cow horse, Shine.

Virus Quarantines Now Affect 42 Facilities In New Mexico
Quarantines have been ordered on 42 sites in New Mexico where a debilitating livestock disease has been confirmed in horses and one bull, state livestock inspectors say.

Clinton Veto Aimed At GOP; Hits Farmers, Dems Instead
President Clinton stabbed himself in the foot with his veto pen this week.

Greenpeace In Crisis As Membership Falls
Diamonds may be forever, but radical "green" groups, it appears, lose their luster after a while.

Sheep And Goat Field Day Planned For September 4
Brush sculpting, a producers' lamb feeding program, industry updates and special recognition of a veteran newsman are just some of the topics scheduled for the Texas A&M Research and Extension Center's 24th Annual Sheep and Goat Field Day September 4.

More Anthrax Found In South Dakota
A third case of anthrax has been confirmed in eastern South Dakota, this time in Davison County, and veterinarians say there is no way to tell where the fatal disease may surface next.

Large Corn, Record Bean Crops Forecast
Farmers will reap a record soybean crop and produce the fourth-largest corn harvest in U.S. history, the Agriculture Department predicted Tuesday.

Hill Country Fair Angora Top $4750
The 61st Hill Country Fair Association registered Angora doe and buck sale sold 47 bucks for average of $407.44 and 14 does for an average of $217.85.

Angelo Feeder Lambs Higher, Cattle Lower
Slaughter lambs sold $5-7 higher this week, feeder lambs firm to $3 higher, ewes steady. Receipts totaled 12,675 head.

San Saba, Brownwood, Mason Cattle Steady
Feeder steers and heifers sold in active trading at Mason, Brownwood and San Saba last week, slaughter cows and bulls steady to strong, pairs and bred cows $25-50 higher. Receipts at the three sales totaled 2006 head.

Most Llano Cattle Prices Trend Lower
Feeder steers and heifers sold $-2 lower, plainer kinds off more, slaughter cows and bulls $2-3 lower. Receipts totaled 415 head.

Coming Up ...
Aug. 15-16—Superior Livestock Auction’s Video Auction, Holiday Inn North, Denver, Colo. Aug. 16—Special Cow Sale, Pearsall Livestock Auction, Pearsall, Tex. Aug. 16—Smith Diamond C Simbrah/Simmental Dispersal Sale, at the ranch, Stephenville, Tex. Aug. 16—Fall Spectacular Replacement Female Sale, Stamford Farmers and Ranchers Livestock Auction, Stamford, Tex.