Futures markets were steady to mixed as futures traders waited for the cash markets to develop most of the week. With packer margins continuing to be in the red, tight cattle supplies were looking for firm cash prices.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) reported that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has completed the required steps to allow Mexican trucks to operate in the U.S. under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and has granted authorization to a Mexican carrier to make U.

After several years of stressing to lawmakers the importance of new trade agreements with some of the world's largest beef importers, beef producers were optimistic last week as the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate voted in favor of the pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea.

In last week's monthly USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report, corn and soybean productions were reduced 1 percent from September, but the supply-demand gap seems to be shrinking, especially in the global market. The report's U.

The recent USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report came out last week, with one key cattle feed supply missing - hay. The drought in Texas, Oklahoma and surrounding states has left the hay supply and demand chart lopsided.

Ranchers across droughtstricken areas have been forced to sell cattle at a historic rate and now many have the added burden of worrying about upcoming income tax implications

Listeria, a mysterious bacteria occasionally found to contaminate foods, has received more than its share of news recently. Especially deadly for vulnerable consumers such as the elderly and pregnant women, listeria is very hard to trace because it can take as long as two months before its victims become ill.

The Obama administration has created a new website to receive public petitions and has promised that top policy staff will review and respond to any petition that gathers more than 5,000 signatures within a 30-day period. A petition supporting legislation banning the sale, transportation, trade, etc.

The FTAs with Colombia, Panama and South Korea were originally signed under former president George W. Bush, and are expected to boost U.S. exports by $13 billion and benefit the U.S. agriculture and manufacturing sectors, in addition to creating U.S. jobs..

Colorado court-ordered well restrictions and shut-offs in 2006 have resurfaced, literally - flooding basements in northeastern Colorado; and figuratively- in water courts with lawsuits seeking a happy medium between all of the South Platte river stakeholders.