A FEAST FOR THE EYES, this Quarter mare and her new colt belong to W.A. and Debbie Dorie of Eldorado, to whom also goes credit for the photo. The feast is only in the eyes, however, because like most of the surrounding area, their northern Schleicher County country remains dry and produces groceries mostly between the tracks of the feed wagon.

Lamb Prices Drop Again; 5-Year Low
Dressed lamb prices fell $10 last week and are now at the lowest level since August 1993. Fat lambs also lost ground in the Midwest markets. Feeder lambs were lower across the country. Slaughter ewes were mostly steady in Texas, higher in the Midwest. Ewe exports to Mexico last week totaled 6154 head.

Plains Fed Cattle Regain $2 In Massive Trade At Midweek
Plains fed cattle trade came roaring back this week, prices regaining $2 to trade actively Wednesday at mostly $66. Packers held out for two days, drawing on nearly 37,000 captives in the Texas Panhandle region alone, but in the end they had to spend some money, and that end came Wednesday morning.

PLAINS FEEDLOT SALES

RANGE SALES

Scientists Study Inoculating Cattle Against E. Coli Germ
E. coli 0157:H7 was first recognized in beef in 1982. Since that time it has created serious economic and political problems for the beef industry because most outbreaks of E. coli have been associated with cattle, either directly or indirectly.

Forest Service Questionnaire Seeks Answers On Range Values
The U.S. Forest Service announced a new information collection system this month to provide baseline data on the economic, social and cultural contributions of livestock ownership by surveying grazing permittees of the Carson and Santa Fe National Forests in New Mexico.

Southern New Mexico Feedlot Not Isolated; Everyone Else Is
In an age of consolidation and corporate mergers, New Mexico Feeding Company is still what it was when it started out — a moderately sized, family-run operation.

BLM Releases Plan For Bird Habitat
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has released its Interim Habitat Management Plans for the Southwestern willow flycatcher as mandated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's biological opinions.

After 35 Years, Company Hopes To Irradiate Beef And Poultry
By Thanksgiving, a small company in Virginia hopes to show the poultry and beef industries that sterilizing meat in one of its irradiators is the best way to quell fears of food poisoning.

Heavy Dressed Weights Cause Increased Red Meat Production
U.S. meat industry dressed weights could easily be record large for each major red meat species in 1998, predicts an Oklahoma State University agricultural economist.

Producer Groups Seek Hearings In Senate
The leaders of three national livestock groups have asked the U.S. Senate to conduct a hearing to examine low prices throughout the livestock industry.

Numbers Suggest U.S. Cow Herd Expansion Has Not Yet Begun
USDA statistics on cow and heifer slaughter indicate that U.S. cow herd expansion probably is not underway at this time.

Ranchers, Ecos Alike Oppose Low-Level Aircraft Training
Five West Texas landowners sued the U.S. and German air forces in federal court Friday to try to stop attempts to increase military training flights over the Davis Mountains region.

Arizona Land Department Pans Ecos’ Non-Grazing Lease Bid
The Arizona Land Department has rejected an environmental activist group’s bid to win two state trust lands grazing leases for non-grazing use.

EPA Targeting Light Trucks, SUV’s For More Regulations
Stockmen may want to start pondering how they’re going to pull a gooseneck trailer with one of the new Volkswagen "Bugs."

Landowner Worries City Pumping May Kill Springs, Dry Up Creek
It's spring along White Deer Creek. The wild grapes and plums are in bloom. The willows are beginning to turn green. Patsy Ward wonders if the creek will continue to flow.

Congress Finds Rampant Fraud In USDA’s Nutrition Programs
Fraud is rampant in the nation's two main low-income nutrition programs, which last year served more than 30 million people, congressional investigators have found. Thousands received benefits who were ineligible either because of errors or cheating.

Oprah Seeks To Move Second Beef Lawsuit
Oprah Winfrey prefers Amarillo to Dumas. She also prefers a friendly federal court to a state court of unknown disposition.

Banks Want Credit Unions Out Of Agriculture Loan Business
Larry Green figures he would have been out of farming long ago without the credit union in Fulda, Minn., that opened in 1986 at the height of a farm-credit crisis.

Ranchers Sue To Stop Gasoline Pipeline From Gulf To El Paso
Eight ranchers have sued to stop construction on a trans-Texas pipeline that would carry gasoline from the Gulf Coast to El Paso until an environmental impact study can be conducted.

Russian Woman Uses Knife To Kill Bear
An elderly Russian woman came out on top in a showdown with a bear recently, dispatching the attacking beast with a knife, said a Russian news agency Tuesday.

Brits’ Bone-In Beef Ban Dealt A Setback
The legality of a British government ban on beef on the bone sales was cast into doubt Tuesday after a Scottish court threw out the first prosecution of a man accused of serving a banned cut.

USDA Softens Stance On Meat Inspections
After 13 plant shutdowns since January, the U.S. Agriculture Department is giving meat and poultry plants the chance to fix minor technical inspection violations themselves as long as the problem doesn't involve tainted food.

Aussie Beef Industry Inks Big China Deal
Beef producers in northern Australia are poised to gain millions of dollars from an export deal signed between Australia and China on Saturday.

Sierra Club To Run Campaign Attack Ads
The Sierra Club announced last week that it will target 25 U.S. House and Senate campaigns for attack ads in the upcoming fall election.

Grains To Get Bulk Of USDA Korea Credit
Wheat, corn and other feed grains will get the bulk of the $500 million in new or unused credits extended by the U.S. Agriculture Department for South Korea to purchase U.S. farm commodities.

Angelo Feeder Lamb, Cattle Prices Lower
Feeder steers and heifers sold weak to $1 lower last week, slaughter cows weak to $2 lower, bulls steady, stock cows and pairs steady in a light test. Receipts totaled 3406 head.

Graham Feeder Steer, Heifer Prices Lower
Feeder steers and heifers sold $1-4 lower, slaughter cows and bulls $2-3 lower. Receipts totaled 1944 head.

Cuero Feeder Cattle Sell In Mixed Trade
Lightweight feeder steers and heifers sold lower, yearlings over 600 pounds strong, slaughter cows $1.50-2.50 lower. Receipts totaled 1304 head.

Llano Feeder Cattle Prices Sharply Lower
Feeder steers and heifers sold $3-5 lower except steers over 700 pounds steady and heavyweight heifers $2-3 lower, slaughter cows and bulls $2 lower. Receipts totaled 305 head.

Abilene Feeder Steers, Heifers Mostly Steady
Feeder steers and heifers sold mostly steady, plain steers 500-700 pounds and 400-500 pound heifers $1-2 lower, slaughter cows and bulls steady, stock cows and pairs mostly steady.

Most Fredericksburg Cattle Prices Lower
Feeder steers and heifers sold $2-3 lower, slaughter cows and bulls $1-3 lower. Receipts totaled 1478 head.

OBI Test Sale Bulls Avg. $1987 Per Head
The annual spring Oklahoma Beef Inc. All Breed Performance-Tested Bull Sale earlier this month averaged $1987 on consignments of 241.33 head.

Goldthwaite Feeder Lambs, Goats Higher
Feeder lambs sold 2-4 higher, slaughter ewes and bucks fully steady, slaughter Angora nannies and muttons $4 higher, stock Spanish nannies $5 higher, slaughter kids and yearlings $1-5 higher, other classes mostly steady.

Colorado City Feeder Cattle Decline $1-3
Feeder steers and heifers sold $1-3 lower, slaughter cows $1-2 lower, bulls steady, stock cows steady, pairs $25 lower. Receipts totaled 955 head.

Producers Video Sale Offers 6800 Cattle
Producers video auction offered 6800 head of feeder cattle from six states. Delivery was current through July.

Most Lampasas Feeder Cattle Prices Weak
Feeder steers and heifers sold steady to weak, slaughter cows and bulls $2 lower. Receipts totaled 1062 head.

Junction Feeder Lambs, Stock Angoras Lower
Feeder lambs sold $2 lower, slaughter ewes and bucks fully steady; stock Angora nannies and muttons steady to $3 lower, slaughter kids steady, other slaughter Angoras $2-4 lower; stock Spanish nannies $5 lower, slaughter classes $2-5 lower.

Loose Ends

Coming Up...
May 1 — Superior Livestock Auction’s Video Sale, at the studio, Fort Worth, Texas. May 1 — 22nd Annual All-Breed Bull Sale, Miller Livestock Markets Inc., DeQuincy, Louisiana. May 2 — R. A. Brown Ranch’s 12th Annual Cowman’s Sale, at the ranch, Throckmorton, Texas. May 2 — Bobby Edmond Horse Sales’ Mid-Spring Riding Horse Sale, Texhoma Livestock Auction, Texhoma, Oklahoma.