Texas Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs recently announced that the Texas Department of Agriculture has received a $120,000 federal grant to develop economic adjustment strategies for the state's sheep and goat industry, which is under stress from drouth and the loss of federal price support programs.

Combs said the Economic Adjustment Assistance Grant may also be used to fund proposals that will benefit rural counties and communities adversely affected by the sheep and goat industry's decline.

TDA will match the grant with 35 percent of in-kind services such as staff resources and administrative support. The department will work closely with producers, livestock associations, local governments and agribusinesses to identify potential projects as well as industry concerns.

A request for proposals is being developed and will be issued under state and federal guidelines. Proposals from across the state will be considered for funding. Universities, research institutions, experiment stations and other non-profit organizations will be encouraged to apply.

Combs said the department may also consider proposals that identify opportunities for alternative industries and diversifying ranching operations.

Robert Wood, TDA deputy assistant commissioner for Agribusiness Development, will coordinate the project. More information may be obtained by calling (512) 463-1614.

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Gonzales citizens, including rancher Jim Selman and several fifth graders of North Avenue Elementary, will be featured in a special segment of the HEB Televentures series entitled "Food for Thought."

The segment, produced in conjunction with the $1 per head beef checkoff program and the Texas Beef Council, will be broadcast by satellite to the nation on the Public Broadcasting System from 10 to 10:30 a.m. Nov. 2.

In those 30 minutes, thousands of students in classrooms from coast to coast will learn about the heritage, history and hospitality of the area's beef producers. The program will serve as the basis for lesson plans focusing on why beef is important to the economy, health and everyday life of Americans.

The young viewers of the program will take a TV tour of Selman's ranch located near Gonzales. They will observe interactive question-and-answer sessions about the beef industry between Selman and the North Avenue fifth graders. And they will learn how the cattle industry provides a strong economic link to local communities while producing food for people around the world.

The Texas Beef Council will kick off the premier at 9:35 a.m. at the North Avenue Elementary for invited producers, local media and the fifth grade stars. During the kickoff, local citizens and students will have an opportunity to view the film just minutes prior to its satellite broadcast over PBS.

Interested viewers in South Central Texas also can view the program by tuning in to their PBS station at 10 a.m.

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A "Predator Awareness Workshop" has been scheduled for November 4 at the Midland College Holiman Wagon Wheel Ranch Education Center. The ranch is located on Hwy. 349 at the intersection of FM 2401 (35 miles south of I-20 in Midland, 21 miles north of Rankin). Registration starts at 8 a.m. Participants are eligible for six continuing education units (CEUs)credit toward a private applicator license re-certification.

A pre-registration fee of $10 will cover all materials and a catered lunch. After November 2, registration will be available at the door for $15. Registration and further information are available from the Texas Agricultural Extension Service office in Midland at (915) 687-1351.

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Master Marketers, an in-depth, intensive risk management education program that teaches skills necessary to execute a marketing plan and how to manage risk to improve profitability, is looking for participants.

The first of four Lubbock 2000 Master Marketer Program sessions is slated for Jan. 12-13. This session will focus on budgets, breakevens, local basis, financial analysis, basic and advanced marketing strategies, and writing and using a marketing plan.

Three other two-day sessions — scheduled on Jan. 26-27, Feb. 9-10 and Feb. 23-24 — will cover fundamental analysis of crop and livestock markets, risk management tools, integration and diversification, and how to use technical analysis in marketing plans.

All sessions will be conducted at the Lubbock Four Points Sheraton hotel. Registration for this intensive, 64-hour marketing education program costs $250 per person. Checks or money orders for registration should be payable to the Texas Extension Education Foundation.

Enrollment is limited to about 60 people, so it is important to register before Dec. 15.

Registration forms or more information are available from county Extension offices or by calling the Texas Agriculture Extension Center in Lubbock at (806) 746-6101.

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The U.S. Meat Export Federation says beef consumption in South Korea rose an estimated 16 percent in the first nine months of this year to reach 295,540 metric tons. MEF credits the country's recovering economy, and notes that consumption of imported beef increased 90 percent while consumption of domestically produced beef slipped five percent.

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Consolidation isn't just a problem in the beef, pork, poultry and grain industries. The Texas Cattle Feeders Association cites Today's Grocer magazine for a report that five retailers now account for 40 percent of all grocery sales nationwide. That is compared to as recently as five years ago, when it took 20 chains to account for 40 percent of sales. The giants are Kroger, Wal-Mart, Albertson's, Safeway and Ahold USA.

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There's trouble in the family. The European Commission, which for more than a decade has fought tooth and nail to maintain a thinly veiled anti-competitive ban on U.S. beef, is reportedly considering legal action against one of its own members — over a thinly veiled anti-competitive ban on beef.

The culprit is France, which banned British beef over "mad cow" fears earlier in the decade. Britain has since cleaned up its beef industry and instituted a variety of measures to protect against bovine spongiform encephalopathy, so-called "mad cow," but France continues to insist on banning British beef.

Despite its own continuing refusal to abide by World Trade Organization rulings that U.S. beef is safe — a refusal that is costing European countries almost $117 million a year in WTO-sanctioned tariffs — the EC is now considering action against its French family member for doing the same thing.

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Americans have learned not to put much stock in anything President Bill Clinton says, but the man who "didn't have sex with that woman" and who maintains his own definitions of the most common words in the English language can be trusted to do what he promises when that promise is a threat to ignore Congress, the Constitution and established rules of law.

Throughout his administration, Clinton has used questionable and even patently illegal interpretations of presidential power to encroach on the productive sector. Some of the more notable examples are his 1996 election-eve lockup of millions of Utah acres in the Escalante Staircase National Monument and his announcement this month that he would lock away an estimated 40 million acres of roadless forests.

Now White House Chief of Staff John Podesta says Clinton, frustrated because Congress won't entirely roll over, is planning to impose a bold series of executive orders and regulatory changes, beginning with medical privacy issues and mandatory paid maternity leave. After that, the Clinton edicts, known as "Project Podesta," will cover "a wide sweep of things we're looking to do." Vows podesta: "We're going to be very aggressive in pursuing it."

Some folks can hardly wait to see what else is in the king's crosshairs.

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