Texas Governor appoints new Conservation Council members
Gov. Rick Perry appointed Mark W. Jones of Brady and Thomas R. Kelsey of Houston to the Texas Farm and Ranch Lands Conservation Council. Jones is a TSCRA director and member of both the Natural Resources and Environment and Legislative and Tax committees. more
 

EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson statement on RFS waiver
"Given the amount of work that remains to sufficiently answer the Texas request for a waiver from the RFS, it is now clear that a final decision on the request will not be completed by July 24. Rather, additional time is needed to allow staff to adequately respond to the public comments and develop a decision document that explains the technical, economic and legal rationale of our decision." A final determination on the waiver request should be made in August. more
 

AgriLife extension to offer Beef Quality updates in Abilene, Amarillo in August
The Texas AgriLife Extension Service will conduct two regional Texas Beef Quality Producer programs in Abilene and Amarillo on Aug. 15 and Aug. 25, respectively. Both programs start at 8:30 a.m. and end at 2 p.m., following a catered lunch provided by the Texas Beef Council. Program sponsors, along with AgriLife Extension, are TSCRA and Texas Beef Council. Four beef quality credits will be available at both programs. more
 

JBS announces "bank of cattle breeding"
JBS S.A., the parent company of Greeley, Colo.-based JBS Swift & Co., has announced it has created a "bank of cattle breeding." With $18.7 million in starting capital, JBS Banco aims to help farmers and ranchers develop production of bulls and cows. more
 

TDA market recap, July 21, 2008
For the week ending July 19, feeder cattle price trends at Texas auctions were mixed, ranging from $4 per hundredweight lower to $4 higher. Lower fed cattle prices pressured the market lower, while lower feed grain costs supported prices. Fed cattle prices dropped after beef prices declined late in the week. more