VARIETY ENOUGH to suit any taste, color-wise, can be found in the meat goat herds scattered throughout West and Central Texas. The base of most bloodlines is the ubiquitous Spanish goat, augmented by injections of various dairy breeds. Of late, the Boer goat has added its own distinctive color and meaty conformation.

Texas Feeder Lamb Prices Turn Softer
Feeder lambs in most Texas markets tended to soften a little this week, though numbers remain limited. Midwest markets were steady.

Plains Fed Cattle Off Again, Movement Sluggish At Midweek
Plains fed cattle trade slipped another $1-2 this week, a decline of as much as $3 since the recent high of $60. One observer said there was no good reason for the slump, "it’s just what we’ve grown accustomed to."

PLAINS FEEDLOT SALES

RANGE SALES

"Retired" Boot Maker Found A Niche In Working Footwear
It was about 1885 when a boot maker named McLaughlin moved to the Texas Panhandle town of Channing to ply his trade. Most of his customers were cowboys from the famed XIT Ranch.

Perry Announces Prison Labor To Clear Brush Over Aquifer
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Rick Perry Monday announced the first project in Texas utilizing inmate labor on state parklands specifically to remove water-trapping brush with a goal of enhancing spring flows and recharge rates over aquifers.

Cap Arrington Spied For South Under John Mosby’s Tutelage
William L. "Bill" Arrington’s roots trace back to Civil War veteran and early-day Texas Ranger John Cromwell Orrick Jr., better known as Captain George W. Arrington.

North Concho Brush Control Study Predicts Water Savings
Situated as it is at the juncture of several geographical regions, the Concho River country around here has seen literally centuries of white exploration, travel and settlement.

Imported Meat Labeling, Price Disclosure Deleted From Bill
Despite months of lobbying by cattle producers across the country and an advertising campaign in the Capitol city, the cattle industry is expressing disappointment that Congress late Tuesday night voted against two key measures that would have increased marketing opportunities for cattle producers.

Demise Of Packing Cooperative May Bode Ill For Feedlot Co-Op
The imminent demise of a beef slaughterhouse venture in the upper Midwest could hurt efforts by the North Dakota Farmers Union to start a producer-owned feedlot.

Forest Service Won’t Cooperate With Probe Over "Inside" Deals
The U.S. Forest Service is defying the request of a congressman who wants to get to the bottom of suspicious agency behavoir by learning which employees may have ties to environmental activist groups.

Feedlots Explain Captive Sale Boycott Position To Customers
I am sure that in recent weeks you have heard a lot about the "Great Nebraska Formula/Grid Out." Kansas and Colorado have also joined the movement, and Texas is discussing it.

Awareness And Knowledge Keys To Managing Colic In Horses
Colic can be as much a pain for a horse owner's wallet as for a horse. However, a few straightforward management steps can help both owner and animal recover in the shortest possible time.

Nevadans Want Federals Out, Support Ranching And Mining
Most Nevadans think the federal government should not manage public lands, but they don't agree on who should, according to a study by researchers at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Former Packer Exec Monfort Joins Move To End Captives
Dick Monfort may carry the name of a meatpacking giant, but he too is a struggling cattle feeder faced with bottomed-out prices.

Much Grain, Fewer Cattle May Argue For Retained Ownership
With one hundred percent of the U.S. corn crop past the dent stage, and barring any major weather disaster, it appears that USDA's September 11, 1998 corn production forecast of 9.738 billion bushels will become a reality.

New "Mad Cow" Test Cuts Time By Months
Scientists have developed a lab technique that might allow rapid screening of slaughtered cows for the rogue proteins that cause mad cow disease and a similar human illness.

EPA Threatens To Take Over New Mexico Water Regulation
New Mexico is drawing up rules to keep the state's water clean, but the federal government might rewrite those rules. If it does, irrigation farmers would likely come under federal water-pollution restrictions for the first time ever.

Mosquitos Get Blame For Livestock Deaths
Cattle and horses are dying from mosquito attacks in Louisiana, brought on by a combination of drouth earlier in the year and overly abundant rainfall in recent days.

Montana Issues 79 Citations On Trucks
A week-long crackdown on truck traffic entering Montana from Canada resulted in 79 drivers being ticketed by state officials, but none of the citations were for violations of agriculture or livestock laws.

Bangs-Free Cattle Get 30-Day Sale Extension
Wyoming Gov. Jim Geringer has signed an emergency set of rules allowing livestock producers an extra 30 days to sell cattle that test free of brucellosis.

Sludge Ranch Owner Is Suing Opponents
A West Texas landowner has sued a neighbor and two others for more than $100,000 over their role in attempts to stop a sewage sludge disposal site on his property.

Espy Trial Underway, To Take Two Months
Jury selection began last Thursday in the trial of former Clinton administration Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy, charged with taking $35,000 in illegal gifts from companies regulated by his agency, including a major Clinton backer, Tyson Foods Inc.

Feds Promise More Local Land Control
Top federal land managers are pledging closer cooperation and more local control on grazing allotments.

Texas Fed Cattle Prices Lower Last Week In Midweek Trading
Slaughter steers and heifers closed 50 cents to mostly $1 lower in Texas Panhandle and Western Oklahoma feedlot trading last week. Movement was light to moderate most of the week with the bulk of trade and movement occurring at midweek.

Nation’s Feeder Cattle Prices Trend Higher Again Last Week
Feeders steers and heifers sold firm to $2 higher around the country again last week. Abundant, relatively cheap feed grains prompted yearling buyers to secure more numbers while calf buyers were encouraged by rain in some areas.

Producers Video Sale Offers 10,100 Cattle
Producers Video Auction offered 10,100 feeder cattle at their regularly sale. Consignments were from eight states, delivery mostly current through October.

Angelo Feeder Lambs Lower, Cattle Steady
Feeder lambs sold $2-5 lower this week, slaughter lambs were too limited for a test, slaughter ewes about steady. Receipts totaled 12,899 head and were mostly slaughter ewes and goats.

Graham Feeder Steers, Heifers Steady To Off
Feeder steers sold steady to $2 lower, heifers $2-3 lower, slaughter cows $2-3 lower, bulls $1-2 lower, bred stock cows $10-20 lower, pairs $20 lower. Receipts totaled 2535 head.

Abilene Steers Trade Higher, Heifers Lower
Feeder steers sold mostly steady, weights 500-600 pounds $1-2 higher, heifers $2 lower, slaughter cows $1-2 lower, bulls steady, stock cows $30 lower. Receipts totaled 3357 head.

Junction Lambs Steady, Goat Prices Decline
Feeder and slaughter lambs sold steady, slaughter ewes and bucks $3 lower; stock Angora goats $2-4 lower, slaughter Angoras $3-5 lower; slaughter Spanish goats $2 lower.

Llano Cattle Prices Trend Sharply Lower
Feeder steers sold $3-5 lower, heifers $2-3 lower, slaughter cows and bulls $2-3 lower. Receipts totaled 892 head.

Goldthwaite Feeder Lamb Prices Higher
Feeder lambs sold $3 higher, slaughter ewes and bucks steady; stock Spanish nannies $3 higher, slaughter billies $4 lower, other slaughter goats steady. Receipts totaled 4950 head.

Most Milano Cattle Prices Turned Lower
Feeder steers and heifers weighing under 400 pounds sold $3-5 lower, steers over 400 pounds $1-2 lower, heifers $3-5 lower, slaughter cows $1-2 lower, bulls $1-3 lower. Receipts totaled 1351 head.

Domestic Wool Quiet, Weakness Down Under
Domestic wool trading remained at a complete standstill last week except for limited warehouse sales on medium and coarse wools. Demand was narrow.

Most Giddings Cattle Prices Trend Lower
All classes of cattle moved lower in response to generally lower trends elsewhere. Receipts totaled 626 head.

Colorado City Feeder Steers, Heifers Lower
Feeder steers sold $1-4 lower, heifers steady to $1 lower, slaughter cows steady to $1 lower, bulls steady, bred stock cows steady, pairs $50 higher.

Middleweight Cuero Feeder Steers Higher
Feeder steers weighing 500-600 pounds sold $1 higher, other weights and classes a little lower. Receipts totaled 1868 head.

Fredericksburg Feeder Cattle Trends Mixed
Lightweight feeder steers were $2-4 higher, heifers $2 lower, slaughter cows and bulls $1-2 lower. Receipts totaled 1406 head.

San Saba, Brownwood, Mason Feeders Mixed
Feeder steers weighing under 500 pounds sold $2-6 higher in Mason, Brownwood and San Saba last week, weights over 500 pounds $3-5 lower, heifers $1-3 higher, slaughter cows and bulls $2-5 lower, stock cows and pairs in fair demand.

August Meat Up 4%, Pork A New Record
Commercial red meat production for the United States totaled 3.77 billion pounds in August, up four percent from the 3.62 billion pounds produced in August 1997.

U.S. Meat Production 5.4% Above A Year Ago
Total red meat production under federal inspection last week was estimated at 875.8 million pounds, 2.7 percent less than a week earlier and 5.4 percent more than a year ago.

Kansas Direct Feeder Cattle Prices Higher
Feeder steers sold firm to $1 higher in Kansas direct trading last week, heifers firm to $2 higher. The weather was hot and dry in the western half of the state, but the eastern half had good moisture, some areas receiving 2-4 inches of rain.

Loose Ends

Coming Up...
October 1 — Special Calf Sale, Socorro Livestock Market, Lemitar, New Mexico. October 1 — Special Female Consignment Sale, Jordan Cattle Auction, San Saba, Texas. October 2 — 6666 Burnett Ranches, Inc. and Ray Hunt Rattlesnake Ranch’s Return To The Remuda Horse Sale, 6666 Ranch, Guthrie, Texas.