A ROSIER COMPLEXION tinted fed cattle this week as prices surged more than $5 from early rounds of last week and $3 or more from the bulk of trading last Thursday. Tighter numbers, far fewer captives and a generally bullish attitude bouyed the trade.

Fat, Feeder Lambs Trade On Low Side
Feeder and fat lambs were a couple of dollars lower this week in sympathy with the declining carcass trade. Carcass lambs were $4 lower across the board late last week, weights 55 pounds and down $156.50-157 on the East Coast, 55-65 pounds $164.50-157 and heavier weights $169.50-170.

Plains Fed Cattle Much Higher In Active Trading At Midweek
After a staring match the first two days of the week, Plains feedlot trade on Wednesday was quickly established at $62, some prices as much as $62.50, and about 3000 head in the Texas Panhandle all the way up to $63. That compares to bids and a few scattered sales a week earlier at $57, and massive movement last Thursday at $59.

PLAINS FEEDLOT SALES

RANGE SALES

Ranch Life And Horses Formed Background Of Pampa Sculptor
Gerald Sanders started out carving sticks when he was growing up on a ranch in North Texas. "All my life, I've whittled and carved," the 72 year-old Sanders says.

Managing Range Habitat Key To Enhancing Quail Numbers
Managing for healthy, viable and thriving quail populations requires land managers to think and plan for quail every day of the year. That was the gist of the message delivered here by San Angelo-based Extension wildlife specialist Dr. Dale Rollins during the first of several one-day intensive "Quail Appreciation" seminars scheduled throughout West Texas.

Panhandle Bank, Food Agency Team Up To Reduce Beef Glut
A West Texas bank, concerned about the glut of meat holding down cattle prices, has launched its own effort to move surplus beef out of the market.

Forecast Of Dry Winter Adds To Drouth’s Potential Impact
Last year, farmers and ranchers in some — but by no means all — parts of Texas had a winter that bordered on miraculous.

Military, Rancher Reach Pact On Lost Grazing Compensation
The U.S. Air Force and Three Creek rancher Bert Brackett have signed a compensation agreement worth nearly $1 million for public grazing permits lost to a proposed jet training range.

Congress Forces Clintonites To Issue EU Ag Trade Threats
Under pressure from Congress, the Clinton administration published a letter Saturday outlining possible retaliation against the European Union if the EU defies an international court's rulings on banana and beef exports.

NCBA Decides Not To Support Legal Action Against Imports
The National Cattlemen's Beef Association executive committee has voted against a petition seeking legal action to restrict live cattle imports from Canada and Mexico.

Ranchers May Appeal Ruling On Grassland
Ranchers are considering appealing a decision that could reduce livestock grazing on the Fort Pierre National Grassland. The proposed changes include increasing the amount of land that is off-limits to grazing each year, reducing the number of livestock on the land, and restricting summer grazing in wooded draws.

"Green" Group Extends Agenda With Massive "Wildlands" Plan
Opponents of a radical activist group which has nibbled away at grazing and timber production in the Southwest have long argued that the organization’s real agenda is much broader than it has ever admitted — nothing short of driving all productive activity off millions of acres of land.

Activists Insist It’s Unfair To Charge Them For Land Use
nvironmental activists have expended a lot of outrage over the years about what they call "subsidized" use of public lands by stockmen, miners and the timber industry. The productive sector doesn’t pay enough for use of those resources, they loudly insist.

Economist Sees 1998 As One Of Most Difficult For Ag
As we enter the fourth quarter, it is clear that 1998 will be one of the most financially difficult years for agricultural producers since the early '80's. After last year's near record high farm and ranch income, net U.S. farm income will drop significantly in 1998, especially in Texas.

Slowdown Of Canadian Trucks Finally Prods Ag Trade Talks
Trade officials from the United States and Canada are planning a series of meetings in the coming weeks to resolve a dispute over agriculture exports.

Espy’s Attitude Toward Ethics Rules Cited In Bribery Trial
Former Clinton administration agriculture secretary Mike Espy had little regard for the ethics rules that apply to Cabinet officers, according to a fellow Cabinet member.

Ignorance And Carelessness Contribute To Another Wreck
Most everyone I have ever talked to about accidents agrees that they can be prevented. I believe that myself. There are several ways to prevent accidents.

Ecos Crying "Foul" Over Poll Correcting Misrepresentations
Polling drives everything in politics today, it seems, but critics have long contended that polls can be skewed by the questions that are asked and how they are presented.

New Zealand Rabbit Control Effort Showing Side-Effect
Talk about your unintended consequences — not to mention just plain weird ... Folks in the down-under countries of Australia and New Zealand should be keenly aware of what can happen when strange new organisms are introduced into a habitat where they didn’t exist before, especially when the introduction has anything to do with rabbits.

Clinton Vetoes Ag Spending Bill For Lack Of Subsidies
Facing likely impeachment in the House and desperate to shore up support among core Senate liberals who could hold the key to his removal from office, President Clinton last week followed through on threats to veto the entire agriculture appropriations budget.

Water Use In West Declining, Even As Population Increases
Water consumption in the West is declining because of more efficient use by agriculture and industries, a federal hydrologist says.

Wyoming Game Dept. Pans Lynx Listing
Protecting lynx under the Endangered Species Act is premature and may cause the federal government to intervene in other areas, a state wildlife official said.

Nation’s Feeder Cattle Post Modest Gains Of $2 Last Week
Feeder cattle traded steady to $2 higher as both the futures and the fat cattle markets showed signs of strength. Feeder cattle buyers were encouraged by good rains through at least some of the wheat country. Not everybody was happy, though, as packers were complaining of a slumping boxed beef trade.

Mortensen Takes Home Honors At Original Coors Showdown
At the conclusion of the Original Coors Rodeo Showdown Oct. 2-4 in Phoenix, Ariz., seven rodeo athletes took home the second jewel in the PRCA’s triple crown.

Texas Fed Cattle $2 Higher, Movement Good On Thursday
Slaughter steers and heifers closed mostly $2 higher in Texas Panhandle and Western Oklahoma feedlot trading last week.

Angelo Feeder Lambs Lower, Cattle Higher
Feeder lambs sold $1-2 lower this week, slaughter lambs poorly tested and slaughter ewes weak to $1 lower. Receipts totaled 14,123 head and included 45 percent slaughter ewes, 20 percent feeder lambs and the balance goats.

Kansas Direct Feeder Steers Move Higher
Feeder steers were steady to $2 higher in Kansas direct trade last week, heifer sales too few for an adequate market test. Weather was mild, wheat drilling in full swing. Sales were confirmed on 7787 head.

Angelo Special Sale Offers 2500 Cows
Producers Livestock Auction offered 2500 cattle at a special replacement female sale. Most cows and heifers were sold by the head or pair.

Milano Heavyweight Feeders Sell Higher
Feeder steers and heifers under 400 pounds sold steady, weights over 400 pounds $1-2 higher, slaughter cows steady, bulls steady to $2 higher. Receipts totaled 1492 head.

Abilene Feeder Steer, Heifer Prices Higher
Feeder steers sold $1-2 higher, heifers $2-3 higher, slaughter cows and bulls steady, stock cows $20-30 higher, pairs steady. Receipts totaled 3040 head.

Lampasas Feeder Steer, Heifer Prices Higher
Feeder steers and heifers sold $1-3 higher, the full advance on weights under 600 pounds, slaughter cows and bulls $1 lower. Receipts totaled 695 head.

Most Graham Cattle Prices Trend Higher
Feeder steers sold steady to $1.50 higher, heifers steady to $2 higher, slaughter cows $1-1.50 higher, bulls steady, pairs steady. Receipts totaled 2065 head.

Most Mason, Brownwood, San Saba Cattle Higher
Feeder steers and heifers sold $2-5 higher in Mason, Brownwood and San Saba last week, with some lightweight steers, $6-8 higher, slaughter cows steady to $1 higher, bulls steady, pairs steady, bred stock cows $25-50 higher.

Colorado City Feeder Cattle Prices Higher
Feeder steers and heifers sold steady to $3 higher, slaughter cows steady, bulls $2 lower, bred stock cows weak, pairs steady. Receipts totaled 1411 head.

Goldthwaite Lambs, Angora Goats Steady
Feeder lambs sold steady, slaughter lambs fully steady, bucks $2 higher; slaughter Angora goats mostly steady; slaughter Spanish kids $3-5 higher, other classes $1-3 lower.

Most Junction Lambs, Stock Angoras Steady
Feeder lambs sold steady, slaughter ewes steady; stock Angora goats steady, slaughter Angoras steady to $2 higher; slaughter Spanish muttons and billies steady, other slaughter goats $3-6 higher, stock nannies $2 lower. Receipts totaled 6500 head.

Cuero Feeder Steer, Heifer Prices Higher
Feeder steers and heifers weighing over 400 pounds sold higher, slaughter cows 50 cents lower. Receipts totaled 1618 head.

Most Fredericksburg Cattle Prices Higher
Feeder steers and heifers sold $1-3 higher, slaughter cows and bulls $1-2 higher. Receipts totaled 936 head.

Llano Feeder Cattle Regain Lost Ground
Feeder steers and heifers sold $3-4 higher, slaughter cows and bulls steady. Receipts totaled 646 head.

Junction High-Dollar Calf Sale $1-3 Better
Feeder steers and heifers sold $1-3 higher at the special High-Dollar calf and yearling sale, slaughter cows and bulls steady to $1 higher, stock cows steady. Receipts totaled 417 head.

U.S. Meat Production 1.7% Above A Year Ago
Total red meat production under federal inspection last week was estimated at 886.7 million pounds, up 1.8 percent from a week earlier and up 1.7 percent from a year ago. Cumulative meat production for the year to date was 2.9 percent more than a year ago at 34.04 billion pounds.

Most Giddings Cattle Prices Termed Higher
Most classes of feeder steers and heifers sold $3-5 higher. Receipts totaled 616 head.

Domestic Wool Quiet, Aussies Reach A Low
Domestic wool trading was slow the past two weeks and at a standstill in most areas. Demand was light to narrow. An unusually large percent of last spring’s clip still remains in first hands or warehouses, most sellers unwilling to accept current prices for wool.

Loose Ends

Coming Up...
October 15 — Special Calf and Yearling Sale, Jordan Cattle Auction, San Saba, Texas. October 16 — Angelo State University’s Beef Cattle Field Day Angus Bull Sale, ASU Management/Instruction and Research Center, San Angelo, Texas. October 16 — Lone Star Hereford Ranch’s Generation After Generation 19th Annual Production Sale, at the ranch, Henrietta, Texas.