Fed cattle trade on Thursday was inactive on light demand in the Southern Plains and Colorado with slow trade on moderate demand in Nebraska and the Western Corn Belt, with not enough sales in any feeding region to establish an adequate market test.

According to a recent study by Bruce Babcock, an Iowa State University (ISU) economist, the federal government’s continuing subsidy of the biofuels industry is no longer warranted.

At Oklahoma City, OK, this week, feeder steers were selling steady to $2 higher while stocker steers and steer calves were called $2-3 higher. Feeder and stocker heifers and heifer calves sold steady to $1 higher with feeder heifers just lightly tested.

Congress will take up a bill to expand food recalls to more actively target consumers with the information. The bill, introduced by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, earlier this week would expand the information passed to consumers after a recall is issued.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack recently appointed four members to the Lamb Promotions, Research, and Information Board. All appointees will serve three-year terms, beginning immediately.

For the second consecutive week, fed cattle trade was slow to get started, with most of the volume expected to be put off until Friday as packers and feedlots faced off over prices. Last Thursday, bids and offers were still $3-4 apart in most areas, with expectations that fed cattle would trade mostly

Fed cattle trade was put off until Friday last week as packers appeared reluctant to pay asking prices for showlist animals, particularly in the southern tier where cattle were priced at $94-95. The call for the week, ahead of any significant trade last Thursday