YOUNG COWS like these may make up the lion’s share of the Texas herd a year or two down the road, if and when the drouth and poor market are safely in the past. Forced liquidations of older cows continue unabated throughout much of the state, and aside from a few near-thefts by canny buyers from afar, most cows old enough to remember good rains are going on the rail.

Fat, Feeder Lamb Prices Mostly Steady
Both fat and feeder lamb prices showed some starch this week, holding steady in most areas and trending higher in a few. Sioux Falls was an exception, selling fats $1-3 lower Wednesday, but muddy pelts were a factor there.

Plains Fed Cattle Not Moving, So Feedlots Feel Optimistic
Plains cattle feeders were feeling better about themselves and their market at midweek, said one observer, mostly because nobody was selling anything. After last week’s early collapse, doing nothing was seen as a show of strength.

PLAINS FEEDLOT SALES

RANGE SALES

Hagenbarth Family In Ranching Since 1880s And Still Going
Ranching in the West has undergone tremendous changes since its inception more than a century ago, and Jim Hagenbarth’s family and ancestors have lived through a good many of those changes. They’ve been operating in southwestern Montana since the late 1860s and in northern Idaho since the late 1880s.

Turn-Back Of Aussie Cattle Strengthens Ties On Border
What many producers feared was to be the vanguard of hundreds of thousands of Australian cattle imported to the United States through Mexico has been turned back. As significant as that achievement is, the episode may also prove notable for the good will it has engendered between U.S. cattlemen and their counterparts in the Mexican border states.

Rancher Finally Gets Court Appearance After Seven Years
Seven years after he filed his lawsuit, Tonopah rancher Wayne Hage finally got a chance in court to argue why the federal government should pay $28.4 million for his ranch in Monitor Valley.

Mouse And Green Bronc Bad Mix When A Woman Is Between Them
In Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, the word ACCIDENT is explained like this: "an unforeseen or unplanned event ... an unfortunate event caused by carelessness or ignorance."

WT Farmers Reap Insurance Windfall On Unlikely Crops
Some West Texas farmers were able to recoup $15.7 million in insurance claims this year thanks to federal loopholes that raised crop benchmarks so high that farmers were guaranteed a payout, the Texas Journal of The Wall Street Journal reported last week.

Judge Won’t Okay Wolf Killing, But May Rescind Removal Delay
A federal judge will not allow a Dubois-area rancher to kill federally protected wolves that the rancher says are a threat to his family and cattle.

Prosecutor Lays Out Espy Case; Defense Plays The "Race Card"
Businesses with millions of dollars at stake saw President Clinton's first agriculture secretary as "easy pickings" and plied him with sports tickets, airfare and limousine rides to win favor, the prosecutor in Mike Espy's corruption trial said in opening arguments late last week.

Checkoff-Funded Research Deals With Dilemma Facing Consumers
For years, the $1-per-head checkoff has been working to stabilize market share for beef — no easy task in a marketing environment that gives consumers more food options than ever before. To help the beef industry compete for its share of plate, the beef checkoff has conducted research to better understand consumers — and learned some very interesting things in the process.

Cheap Calves And Timely Rains Boost Stockers In Some Areas
After a devastating drouth from March through early August, the forage situation in South Central Texas has improved substantially as a result of excellent rains in August and September. With indications that the cattle market may improve this winter, ranchers are looking for alternatives to harvest the extra forage.

Clinton Vows To Veto Spending Bill That Covers Ag Disasters
President Clinton said Tuesday he had "no choice but to veto" a $4.1 billion Republican farm aid plan because it doesn't help farmers enough.

Armyworms Are Latest Scourge To Hit Drouth-Plagued Texas
Just when the oppressive heat and devastating drouth seemed to be subsiding, vegetation in Central Texas is facing a new enemy: armyworms.

Canadian Truck Inspections Halted To Await Trade Talks
Western governors furious about Canadian trade practices they say interfere with U.S. grain and cattle markets have agreed to suspend stiff inspection rules while the countries negotiate trade terms.

Longer Lynx Comment Period Not Certain
A decision to extend the comment period on a proposal to list the Canada lynx as threatened in the lower 48 states has not been made, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials said last Friday.

Overturn Of "Federalism" Order Doesn’t Dissuade Clinton Camp
Outrage over President Clinton's Executive Order on "federalism" culminated in a lopsided vote by the U.S. House of Representatives that the Order be withdrawn. Within days it was.

Kansans Want State’s Help To Increase Grain Storage
Farmers, agriculture groups and others are asking legislators to intervene to prevent millions of bushels of grain from being stored on the ground in future years.

Farm, Ranch Heritage Museum Records New Mexico’s Roots
The doors open into a large lobby where large plate glass windows frame the craggy Organ Mountains and the purplish air to the east.

Sheep Industry Files Anti-Import Petition
The U.S. International Trade Commission is being asked to recommend tariffs and quotas on imported lamb meat, blamed by American sheep producers for hurting their industry.

New Mexico Stockmen Urged To Treat Snakeweed In Fall
Treating poisonous broom snakeweed this fall can help ranchers in central and northern New Mexico catch the plant early in its life cycle, preventing livestock poisonings.

Four-Rodeo Sweep Moves Bull Rider From 26th To 15th Slot
Earning $10,000 in 40 seconds was just another day at the office for Brian Herman. The bull rider from Victoria, Texas, bested all PRCA money earners in a phenomenal run of victories last week. He accumulated $10,250 on his way to his best ranking in the Crown Royal world bull riding standings this year.

Steers, Heifers Weak To Lower In Angelo Special Sale Monday
Steers and heifers sold weak to $1 lower Monday in the season’s seventh special feeder sale at Producers Livestock Auction. Trading and demand were termed moderate, the quality attractive with numerous bunches of fresh preconditioned cattle. Calves made up 60 percent of receipts, which totaled an estimated 3850 head compared to 2317 for the last special sale last month and 3885 for the same day last year.

Superior Livestock Video Sale Offering Totals 39,000 Cattle
Superior Livestock Auction offered 39,000 head of calves, feeder cattle and breeding stock here at their regularly scheduled video auction. Consignments were from 26 states and Mexico.

Feeder Cattle Prices Decline Across Country, Tracking Fats
The feeder cattle market declined across the country last week, finding no support from the slaughter cattle trade.

San Saba, Brownwood, Mason Feeders Lower
At San Saba, Brownwood and Mason, steers under 500 pounds sold $3-7 lower, steers over 500 pounds $1-4 lower, heifers 2-6 lower, replacement heifers steady to strong, slaughter cows $1-3 lower, bulls $2-5 lower, and pairs steady to strong with choice bred cows $25-75 higher.

Texas Fed Cattle Prices Mostly $2 Lower In Midweek Trading
Slaughter steers and heifers closed mostly $2 lower in Texas Panhandle and Western Oklahoma feedlot trading last week.

Angelo Sheep Weak, Feeder Cattle Lower
Slaughter lambs were poorly tested Tuesday, feeder lambs and slaughter ewes weak. Receipts totaled 12,500 head, mostly slaughter ewes and goats.

Junction Lambs Steady, Goat Prices Higher
Feeder lambs were fully steady, slaughter ewes steady; stock Spanish nannies $3 higher, all classes of slaughter Spanish goats steady to $2 higher; stock Angora nannies and muttons $2 higher, slaughter Angora kids and yearlings $5-7 higher, all other classes of slaughter Angoras $1-2 lower.

Abilene Steer Prices Mixed, Heifers Steady
Feeder steers under 600 pounds sold $1-2 higher, over 600 pounds $1-2 lower, feeder heifers mostly steady, utility cows 50 cents to $1 higher, other slaughter cows steady, slaughter bulls $1 lower, replacement cows $30 per head higher, pairs untested.

Isa Sale Averages $1905 On 200 Bulls
ISA Cattle Company sold 200 bulls for an average of $1905 per head at its 37th Beefmaster Bull Sale here.

Most Milano Cattle Steady To Higher
Feeder steers under 400 pounds sold $3-5 higher, 400-600 pounds steady, over 600 pounds steady to $2 higher, feeder heifers under 600 pounds steady, over 600 pounds steady to $1 higher, slaughter cows and bulls steady.

Cuero Market Active But Lower On Cattle
The market was active but lower on all classes of cattle. Receipts totaled 1944 head.

Colorado City Market Steady To $2 Lower
Feeder steers and heifers sold mostly steady to $2 lower with 300 pound steers $2-5 higher, slaughter cows steady to $1 lower, bulls steady, bred cows steady and pairs lower.

Goldthwaite Feeder Lamb Prices Steady
Feeder lambs were steady, slaughter ewes and bucks steady, stocker Spanish nannies mostly steady; slaughter Spanish kids and muttons $2-4 higher, all other classes of slaughter Spanish goats steady; stocker Angora muttons steady, all classes of slaughter Angoras steady.

Lampasas Feeder Steer, Heifer Prices Lower
Feeder cattle under 600 pounds were $2-4 lower, over 600 pounds $1-2 lower, slaughter cows and bulls $1-2 lower. Receipts totaled 1250 head.

U.S. Meat Production .9% Below A Year Ago
Total red meat production under federal inspection last week was estimated at 868.7 million pounds, .9 percent below the previous week and 4.2 percent above the same week a year ago. Cumulative meat production for the year to date was 2.9 percent above the same period last year.

Kansas Feeders Down $1 On Lower Numbers
Feeder steers were a $1 lower and heifers weak to a $1 lower in direct trading last week. Receipts were light at 3068 head. Weather for the area showed a welcome change as rains of one to eight inches fell in the southwestern part of the state.

Graham Feeder Cattle Price Trends Mixed
Heifer calves and yearlings were $1-2 lower, steer calves $1-2 higher on better quality, plainer kinds steady, steer yearlings $1 lower, slaughter cows and bulls steady, $1 lower on light, low-yielding cows, bred cows and pairs steady.

Fredericksburg Feeder Heifers Decline $1-2
Steers were steady, heifers $1-2 lower and cows and bulls $2-3 lower. Receipts totaled 1353 head.

Letters To The Editor

Loose Ends

Coming Up...
October 8 — Special Bull Consignments, Jordan Cattle Auction, San Saba, Texas. October 8 — Schmidt Hereford Ranch Annual Sale, at the ranch, Mason, Texas. Oct. 8-10 — Texas Section Society for Range Management Annual Meeting, Midland, Texas.