CUT THESE CATTLE and they’ll bleed red ink, just as their counterparts have done almost uninterrupted for the past year and a half. The conventional wisdom is that excessive meat supplies and depressed exports are to blame for massive losses on fat cattle, but it turns out that exports remain a lot healthier than has long been reported, and both carcass and retail beef prices are holding steady. Someone is making money, but it’s not the man with manure on his boots.

Feeder Lambs Soft, Fats Off Sharply
Fat lamb prices suffered sharp declines in most areas this week, some Midwest sales fully $10 off. Although the carcass trade held steady, the financial crisis in Russia has cut pelt demand and the market was nearly inactive.

Plains Fed Cattle Trading At Standstill Over $56 Bids
Plains fed cattle trade was at a virtual standstill through Wednesday afternoon as feedlots faced yet another effort by packers to squeeze money out of a market that was already reduced to pulp and rind.

PLAINS FEEDLOT SALES

RANGE SALES

Ranchers Hear Different Views On Developing Replacements
A comparison of management systems for raising quality replacement heifers in a typically high rainfall area versus an arid environment was one session topic at Texas A&M’s 44th Beef Cattle Short Course here in August.

Analyst Gazes Into Crystal Ball To See Feeding Trends
A New Mexico consultant sees powerful feed additives, dial-a-dose implants, designer feeds and environmentally sound production systems in the beef cattle industry of the 21st century.

Clash With Corporate Culture Ended Heir’s King Ranch Reign
Stephen J. "Tio" Kleberg patterned himself after his heroes, the men who taught him to ride and rope. "All I ever dreamed about was being a cowboy," Kleberg said.

Texas Cattle Feeders Assn. Joins NCBA Pricing Position
The Texas Cattle Feeders Association is joining the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association in opposition to mandatory live cattle price reporting.

Grain Country Again Expecting Railroad, Storage Congestion
Wheat fills Kansas elevators and is piling up on the ground. The corn harvest is just around the corner and expected to be the second-biggest ever. Rail car delivery is backlogged.

Beef Council Helps Train SYSCO Employees To Better Sell Beef
One hundred marketing associates of SYSCO, North America’s largest foodservice marketer and distributor, improved their capability to sell beef thanks to recently completed training seminars conducted in cooperation with the $1 per head beef checkoff.

Plains Feeders Launch Boycott Of Formula Fat Cattle Trading
Bleeding red ink and frustrated by the live fat cattle market’s inability to hold its own against captive supplies, scores of cattle feeders in Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado are joining a temporary boycott of formula and grid pricing schemes.

Wheat Grazing For Stockers Shows Promise In Central Texas
Central Texas cattlemen and others lucky enough to get good rains lately are holding the cards on wheat grazing this season, said an Extension expert speaking here.

California Lists Diesel Fumes Among Cancer-Causing Agents
Ranchers from the rest of the world planning a trip to California might want to think twice about taking their Ford Powerstroke or Dodge Cummins diesel pickup.

Farm Bureau Leader Exhorts Members To Seek Assistance
The president of the Texas Farm Bureau issued a "call to action" to the group’s membership late last week, saying the 1998 drouth has produced a Texas-sized disaster of catastrophic proportions.

Texline Teen Is Overall Top In Junior Fed Beef Challenge
A Texline girl is $2000 richer after winning the 1998 Junior Fed Beef Challenge, sponsored by the Texas Cattle Feeders Association.

Texas Ag Commissioner Perry Weighs In On Beef Checkoff
Much debate is taking place in the Dairy Queens and auction barns across Texas about the future of our cattle business. Another crippling drouth, concerns about equity losses, and foreign competition are forcing producers to re-examine all aspects of the industry.

Clinton’s Veracity May Figure In Lawsuit Over Utah Monument
Admitted liar and President of the United States, William Jefferson Clinton — it's a heck of an introduction. But what does it mean for the country?

Think Tank Contends Federals Do Poor Job Of Managing Land
A Bozeman free-market think tank says federal land managers lose $711 million annually managing their western holdings while state land managers turn a profit, because state managers are more willing to levy fees.

Federals Estimate $3 Million Cost For Seven Mexican Wolves
Federal officials estimate the cost to taxpayers so far for the Mexican wolf reintroduction program at $3 million. Considering the fact that no more than seven such wolves remain at large, that is about $428,570 per head.

Daschle Seeking Curbs By ITC On Cattle Imports From Canada
Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle said he is urging the International Trade Commission to take action against what cattle producers claim is a flood of illegal beef and cattle imports from Canada.

Federals’ Buffalo Management Plan Too Wimpy For Stockmen
The federal government's preferred plan to manage buffalo in Yellowstone National Park would be too lax in dealing with brucellosis, ranchers have told park officials.

Anti-Grazing Activists File Yet Another Southwest Suit
Anti-grazing activists have instituted yet another in a long string of lawsuits intended to drive livestock off public lands in the Southwest.

Buffalo Breeders Bellowing At Talk Of Genetic Impurity
A Texas A&M University professor has some buffalo breeders pawing the dirt.

Nebraska Cattlemen Work On Beef Label
Folks who grow oranges for a living generally don't know beans about raising cattle, but Nebraska's beef producers are taking a page from the citrus industry in hopes of selling more meat.

Texas Fed Cattle Prices Move Lower, Weights Continue High
Slaughter steers and heifers closed $1-2 lower last week in Texas Panhandle and Western Oklahoma feeding trading. Trade was slow except on Wednesday, when most sales took place.

Feeder Steers, Heifers Lower Across The Country Last Week
Feeder steers and heifers sold steady to $3 lower around the country last week, instances $3-6 lower in the Southeast and Southwest.

Angelo Feeder Lamb, Cattle Prices Lower
Feeder lambs sold weak to $1 lower this week, slaughter lambs $3 lower, slaughter ewes $1-3 lower. Receipts totaled 11,110 head.

San Saba, Brownwood, Mason Feeders Strong
Feeder steers and heifers were in good demand and steady to strong in Mason, Brownwood and San Saba last week, slaughter cows and bulls $1-3 lower, pairs and bred stock cows steady to $40 higher. Receipts at the three sales totaled 5575 head, including those at the special female replacement sale in San Saba.

Fredericksburg Cattle Prices Trend Steady
Feeder steers and heifers sold steady, slaughter cows steady. Receipts totaled 580 head.

Junction Goat Prices Trend Sharply Higher
Stock Angora nannies sold $4-8 higher, slaughter muttons and billies $4 higher, kids $8 higher, other slaughter Angoras fully steady; slaughter Spanish kids and yearlings $5-7 higher, other slaughter goats $3-5 higher. Receipts totaled 6400 head.

Llano Feeder Steers, Heifers Trade Lower
Feeder steers sold $2 lower, heifers $2-4 lower, slaughter cows $3 lower, bulls steady.

Lampasas Feeder Steer, Heifer Prices Softer
Feeder steers and heifers sold steady to weak, slaughter cows and bulls steady to $1 lower. Receipts totaled 953 head.

Most Graham Cattle Prices Termed Lower
Feeder steers sold $1-3 lower, except weights 250-350 pounds steady, heifers steady to $1 lower, slaughter cows $1-2 lower, cows with calves $10-20 lower.

Abilene Feeder Steers Higher, Heifers Lower
Feeder steers were mostly fully steady, weights 600-800 pounds $1-2 higher, heifers steady to $2 lower, slaughter cows $1-2 lower, high yielding boners $1 higher, bulls steady, stock cows $20 lower, pairs $50 lower.

Milano Feeder Steers, Heifers Trade Lower
Feeder steers sold steady to $2 lower, weights under 500 pounds $2-3 lower, feeder heifers $1-2 lower, weight under 500 pounds $3-4 lower, slaughter cows $2-3 lower, bulls $3-4 lower.

Cuero Feeder Steers, Heifers Sell Higher
Feeder steers and heifers sold steady to $2 higher, slaughter cows steady to 50 cents lower, bulls lower. Receipts totaled 1152 head

Most Colorado City Feeder Cattle Steady
Feeder steers and heifers sold mostly steady, with 300 pound steers $3-5 higher, slaughter cows $1 lower, bulls steady, bred stock cows and pairs steady.

Goldthwaite Feeder Lambs, Angoras Up
Feeder lambs sold $5 higher, slaughter lambs fully steady, slaughter ewes steady; stock Angora nannies $7 higher, slaughter classes $6-10 higher; slaughter Spanish kids and yearlings $8-10 higher, other slaughter classes $4-7 higher, stock nannies $4 higher.

Kansas Direct Feeder Cattle Prices Weak
Feeder steers were mostly weak in Kansas direct trade, heifers too few for an adequate market test. Scattered thundershowers caused some flooding and left other places high and dry.

U.S. Meat Production 2.9% Above A Year Ago
Total red meat production under federal inspection last week was estimated at 880.5 million pounds, 1.2 percent more than a week earlier and 2.9 percent more than a year ago. Cumulative meat production for the year to date was up 2.7 percent at 28.8 billion pounds.

Domestic Wool Trade Quiet Due To Imports
Domestic wool trading remains at a complete standstill. Demand was narrowed as buyers found continued supplies of lower priced imported wools, wool top and fabric, as well as a larger than normal carryover of finished goods from last winter in most areas.

Loose Ends

Coming Up...
September 10 — Special Cow Sale, Producers Livestock Auction, San Angelo, Texas. September 10 — Special Calf and Yearling Sale, Jordan Cattle Auction, San Saba, Texas. September 11 — Special High Dollar Calf and Yearling Sale, Junction Stockyards, Junction, Texas.