Sunday, June 28, 1998

Few livestock auctions open this week

By J.T. Smith / Abilene Reporter-News

If you are thinking of trucking Ol' Bossy to the sale barn this week, be advised that most area livestock auctions will be closed. And you don't want to waste a trip to town.

But there are a few opportunities at auctions very early in the week.

Graham Livestock Commission will have its regular sale on Monday there, Bud Harrell reports.

Abilene Livestock Auction will have its Tuesday sale as usual here.

Eastland Livestock Auction also will sell cattle on Tuesday there, David Coan notes. (For folks with hogs, the Hog Buying Station at the Eastland auction also will be open from 7 a.m. until noon Monday to receive pigs).

Most everyone else is shutting down for the Fourth of July holiday period.

Brownwood Cattle Auction will not have a sale there Tuesday. Neither will Jordan Cattle Company's auction at Mason on Monday or San Saba on Thursday.

No sale at Sweetwater Cattle Auction on Wednesday, Darren Stevens said. Coleman Livestock Auction also will be shut down on Wednesday, the Edington Family said. Weatherford Stockyards will be closed on Wednesday too.

Ranger Livestock Auction will be closed Thursday.

And as we celebrate Independence Day, the Colorado City Livestock Market, McDougal's Auction Barn at Comanche, Mineral Wells Stockyards and Haskell Livestock Auction all will be closed Saturday for the Fourth of July observance.

So it looks like Graham, Abilene and Eastland are your best shots at taking any cattle to the auction barn this week.

Drought is hammering some cattlemen

Visiting with Bud Harrell, he told me that Oklahoma has become pitifully dry with cattle pastures and ranges parched.

By contrast, Harrell said eastern Kansas was in pretty good shape.

Harrell noted that many major cattle feedyards are taking advantage of the dirt-cheap wheat prices.

He said the feedyards are substituting a percentage of wheat in their rations, in addition to the traditional steam-flaked corn.

It's sort of cruel twist that even though wheat is the cheapest it has been in seven years in the United States, the Asian markets would still have difficulty purchasing American wheat nowadays because of their severe problems of devalued currency.

As long as Japan lets the yen slide, agricultural producers in this country certainly are going to feel the impact in their export markets.

It makes it mighty difficult to sell U.S. ag products in the Asian market.

Speaking of Fourth of July week

In our part of the world, "Fourth of July" week and the "Texas Cowboy Reunion" are like Santa Claus and Christmas.

The TCR is Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Stamford.

TCR President Gary Mathis said the Grand Parade through downtown Stamford at 4 p.m. Wednesday will kick-off off this annual event. Legendary Abilene farm broadcaster Harry Holt, 84, the "Dean of Farm Newsman," will be Grand Marshal of the TCR Grand Parade.

The public can enjoy chuckwagon barbecue of Joe Allen's Pit Bar-B-Que at 6 p.m. all four days of the Reunion.

Mathis said rodeo performances begin with the Grand Entry at 8 p.m. each date in the Main Arena.

Jody Nix and The Texas Cowboys will play for your dancing pleasure at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday at the Pavilion adjacent to the Main Arena.

Oldtimers have a busy agenda

The Texas Cowboy Oldtimers Association have a full -- but relaxful schedule -- reports the Rev. Jarrell Sharp, Oldtimers president, of Midland.

Both Wednesday and Thursday, the TCOA will have a noon barbecue lunch at the Bunkhouse Shed. There will be lots of visiting at this special time.

On Friday, the Oldtimers will begin activities with coffee and fellowship at 9 a.m. in the Bunkhouse.

Following a 9:30 a.m. directors meeting in the Bunkhouse Office, the annual Oldtimers Memorial Service is 10:30 a.m. in the Bunkhouse. Mr. Holt will be back in Stamford as speaker for the Memorial Service. Oldtimers, who have passed on since last year's Cowboy Reunion, will be remembered and eulogized at that time.

A noon barbecue will follow the Memorial Service at the Bunkhouse Shed, along with a business meeting at 1:30 p.m. and gospel singing at 2 p.m., both in the Bunkhouse.

On Saturday, the Oldtimers will have a big time celebrating the Fourth of July.

They will start will coffee and fellowship at 9 a.m., followed by a Fiddlers Contest at the Roundup Hall at 9:30 a.m. A barbecue lunch is noon at the Bunkhouse Shed. Then the Oldtimers will dance the afternoon away beginning at 1:30 p.m. in the Roundup Hall.

In addition to having served his term as Oldtimers president, Sharp has been the Oldtimers chaplain for 25 years.

With all of this -- I've barely even touched on all the things at the Texas Cowboy Reunion, the world's largest gathering of ranch cowboys and biggest rodeo of real working cowboys. A tradition since 1930 -- there's nothing to compare.

Please see the special section in today's <I>Reporter-News<I> for far more on all the things going on at Stamford this Wednesday through Saturday.