DUSTY PENS and dried-out pastures are the rule over much of the left half of Texas as stockmen wait out September rains that show no eagerness to arrive. These finewool lambs near Fort Stockton stand under a haze of corral dust that still hadn't settled down long after they did.

Lamb Meat, Fat, Feeder Lambs Lower
The dressed lamb trade took off about $10 last week and indications point to more losses this week.

Plains Fed Cattle Trading Slow After Two Big Weeks
Two weeks of liberal fed cattle movement on the Plains left feedlots with reestricted showlists this week and packers making a show of not needing them.

PLAINS FEEDLOT SALES

RANGE SALES

Matadors' Boss Johnny Stevens Found Youth Can Be A Handicap
John Vance Stevens still remembers the time it never rained. He was managing the Scottish-owned Matador Ranch in this rough country between Wichita Falls and Lubbock.

Hard Work And Family Key To John Ascuaga's Nugget
John Ascuaga, the owner of John Ascuaga's Nugget hotel and casino, is the son of a Basque immigrant sheepherder who worked his way up from the bottom to build an entertainment empire but never forgot his roots.

Millenium Bug Lies In Wait To Snarl Personal Finances
In this day and age, it's hard to ignore the power of business computers. In fact, computers and data storage affect just about every aspect of our lives — most notably our personal finances.

Craig Introduces Legislation To Overturn Clinton Ag Veto
At the urging of farmers from his home state, U.S. Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, has introduced legislation disapproving President Clinton's line-item veto of a measure designed to help farmer-owned co-ops buy agricultural facilities.

Brush Sculpting Differs Much From Wholesale Brush Control
Webster defines a landscape architect as "one whose profession is to arrange and modify the effects of natural scenery over tracts of land so as to produce the best aesthetic effect with regard to the use to which the tract is to be put."

Highland Hereford Group Hears About Taxes And Hereford Beef
Taxes and the Certified Hereford Beef program were the leading topics at the recent annual meeting of the 79 year-old Highland Hereford Association.

"Innocent" Tall Tale Succeeds In Rubbing Dudettes Wrong Way
Well, I did it again. I just happened to come up with one of the neatest impromptu stories in the history of impromptu stories, only to have some goofy woman take it the wrong way.

Liver Flukes Are Problem Under Specific Conditions
Liver flukes are usually considered a minor problem, causing about five percent of beef livers to be condemned nationwide.

USDA's Corn Harvest Figures Unchanged From A Month Ago
Despite a spell of dry weather in early August across parts of the Cornbelt, USDA's latest forecast for the nation's corn harvest is virtually unchanged from last month at 9.27 billion bushels.

Easterners Posting Property In Protest Of Eco-Overlords
Property rights battles have been raging for years in the West, and now Easterners are beginning to join the fray.

Espy Pleads Innocent On Graft Indictment
Former U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy pleaded not guilty last week to charges that he accepted and tried to hide more than $35,000 worth of sports tickets, travel and other gifts given him by agribusinesses.

EU To Appeal Ruling By WTO On Hormones
The European Union plans on Sept. 25 to appeal a World Trade Organization ruling that outlawed the group's ban on hormone-treated beef.

USDA E. Coli Probe Turns To Packers
The U.S. Department of Agriculture was expected to send investigators to packing houses this week to search for the source of contaminated beef that led to the nation's largest recall of meat.

Central Texas Wheat Shows Karnal Bunt
The wheat fungus Karnal bunt has been detected in a Texas grain sample, says the U.S. Agriculture Department.

Reception Sept. 25 Honors Sheep Sculptor
San Angelo calls itself the "Wool Capitol," and will soon have a landmark befitting that title.

Steers, Heifers Weak To Lower In Angelo Special Sale Monday
Steers and heifers were weak to $1 lower here Monday in the season's sixth special feeder sale at Producers Livestock Auction.

Junction Special High-Dollar Feeder Cattle Sale Stronger
Choice steers sold steady to $2 higher in the special High-Dollar calf and yearling sale at Junction Stockyards, heifers steady to $1 higher, replacement heifers $5-7 higher. Receipts totaled 662 head.

Dan Mortensen Breaks Record; Most Money In Single Event
Three time world champion saddle bronc rider Dan Mortensen, Manhattan, Mont., has set a new all-time professional rodeo record for the most money earned in a single event during the regular season.

Angelo Lambs, Feeder Steers, Heifers Lower
Slaughter lambs sold $5-7 lower this week, slaughter ewes $1-3 lower, feeder lambs weak to $3 lower.

Superior Livestock Video Sale Offering Totals 37,000 Cattle
Superior Livestock Auction offered more than 37,000 head of cattle in their regularly scheduled sale here. Consignments were from 28 states.

San Saba, Brownwood, Mason Feeders Steady
Feeder steers sold steady in Mason, Brownwood and San Saba last week, heifers strong, slaughter cows and bulls $1-3 higher, choice stock cows active.

Most Llano Cattle Sell Sharply Lower
Feeder steers and heifers sold $3-5 lower, slaughter cows and bulls $3-6 lower. Receipts totaled 655 head.

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