FEEDLOT-READY STEERS face a ravaged feedlot industry that isn’t yet ready for them. Continued price declines add to already severe losses on feedlot closeouts, the nation’s crazy weather pattern is clouding the crystal ball on upcoming grain prices, and heavy placements are said by some analysts to foretell a longer road than expected for burdensome numbers in the short run. The situation will clear up eventually, but meanwhile, feedlot replacements like these aren’t seeing many welcome mats.

Fat Lambs Up, Feeders Fall Deeper
Fat lambs on Midwest markets found sharply higher prices this week as the supply was rather short everywhere. Feeder lambs were steady in the Midwest but sharply lower in Texas. Slaughter ewes in Texas were $3-5 higher, mostly steady in the Midwest.

Plains Feedlot Trade Stalled Through Midweek One More Time
If the current fat cattle market trend continues, packer buyers will soon be offering to take entire pens for a sack of magic beans.

PLAINS FEEDLOT SALES

RANGE SALES

Brand Inspector Just One Stop On Jim Cloyd’s Winding Trail
In the movies, the lanky young cowboy rides into town, gets elected sheriff, shoots it out with the bank robbers, falls in love with a beautiful girl and lives happily ever after.

At Age 84, Fred A. Drummond Is Patriarch Of Drummond Ranches
Drummond Ranches are an institution in the Osage, and Fred A. Drummond is considered by family members to be the patriarch of that institution.

Will Condor Be Latest In List Of Threats To N.M. Ranchers?
The California condor may be coming to New Mexico soon. Brought back from the edge of extinction in California in the 1980s, condors were introduced to the northern rim of the Grand Canyon earlier this decade.

"Green" Vandals Take Big Toll On Fences In Central Wyoming
Vandals claiming to be "Islamic Jihad Ecoterrorists" caused at least $100,000 in damage by cutting fences on several central Wyoming ranches recently, officials said.

Skeen Wants Hearings In House On Forest Service Secret Deals
A New Mexico congressman is pushing for a congressional hearing on what he has labeled "secret agreements" between the U.S. Forest Service and environmental activists that excluded ranchers, the one element adversely impacted by the outcome.

At School, Salsa Qualifies As A Vegetable, Says USDA
It looks as if sauce for the goose is salsa for the gander. It’s been a little over a decade and a half since the liberal press and the consumer Mafia threw a walleyed fit over Reagan administration plans to treat ketchup as a vegetable under the federal school lunch program.

Kyoto Accord Or Not, "Warming" Plan Facing A Host Of Problems
The so-called "Kyoto Accord" on "global warming" reached last winter in Japan occassioned much high-toned talk and posturing for the cameras, but the nitty gritty is already causing friction.

Facing "Mountain" Of Surplus Grain, Europe Hiking Setaside
Citing fast-growing surplus grain stock, the European Commission proposed last week that EU grain farmers take 10 percent of land out of production in 1999, double the current level.

Anti-Terrorism Plans Include Animal Disease Precautions
People's lives and livestock as well as the rural economy are as vulnerable to terrorist action as any city, an expert says.

Beef Co-Op One Step Closer To Reality
A planned beef processing plant in the Black Hills is apparently a step closer to reality.

Plantings Forecast Large Corn, Bean Crops, Says USDA Report
Now that America's farmers have planted large corn and soybean crops, their chances of turning a profit depend on a centuries-old variable: the weather.

Conagra Blames Asia Woes For Low Returns
Multifoods giant ConAgra Inc. on Thursday blamed lower export demand from Asian markets and excess pork, poultry and beef supplies for a drop in fourth-quarter earnings.

TDA Reopens Hotline To Meet Hay Needs
A toll-free hotline has been set up by the state for farmers and ranchers in drouth-stricken areas of Texas who need hay for their livestock.

Rail Officials Say Grain Can Be Handled
Union Pacific Railroad officials assured farm interests last week that they can handle shipment of this fall's crops as long as farmers don't decide to sell the grain they already have in storage.

Pasture To Packer Gears Up July 13-14
The third Pasture to Packer lamb feeding program sponsored by the Texas Agricultural Extension Service begins with delivery of lambs July 13 and 14 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. to the Denis Feedlot south of here.

Texas Fed Cattle Prices Lower; Weights Reach Two-Year High
Slaughter steers and heifers were mostly $1 lower in Texas Panhandle and Western Oklahoma feedlot trading during last week’s holiday-shortened period.

Feeder Cattle Trade Reduced During July 4 Holiday Period
Sales of feeder cattle and calves were limited across the country during the July 4 holiday-shortened week. Feeder steers and heifers continued their downward price plunge on the limited offerings to close weak to $2 lower; Oklahoma City was the lone exception with prices for calves $1-4 higher and yearling heifers steady to $1 higher.

Angelo Lamb Prices Trend Sharply Lower
Compared to the last sale two weeks ago, feeder lambs sold $6-8 lower, slaughter lambs were poorly tested and slaughter ewes were $3-5 lower. Receipts totaled 17,500 head.

Abilene Feeder Steer, Heifer Prices Higher
Feeder steers and heifers sold steady to $1 higher, weights under 400 pounds $2-3 higher, slaughter cows trending higher, stock cows fully steady.

Domestic Wool Slow; No Foreign Reports
Domestic wool trading was at a complete standstill last week, demand and seller interest both light in the face of the holiday.

Llano Feeder Calves, Yearlings Sell Steady
Feeder calves and yearlings sold steady on an active trade, slaughter cows and bulls steady to $2 higher. Receipts totaled 1897 head.

U.S. Meat Production 12.6% Above A Year Ago
Total red meat production under federal inspection during last week’s holiday-shortened period was estimated at 760.5 million pounds, 8.6 percent less than the previous week but 12.6 percent more than a year ago.

Kansas Direct Feeder Cattle Trade Limited
Too few feeder steers or heifers traded in Kansas direct areas for an adequate market test. Sales were confirmed on 1823 head.

Letters To The Editor

Coming Up...
July 10 — Superior Livestock Auction’s Video Sale, at the studio, Fort Worth, Texas. July 10 — King Ranch Sale, Superior Livestock Video Auction. July 10 — Special High Dollar Calf and Yearling Sale, Junction Stockyards, Junction, Texas.