NEWS ROUNDUP

Retailers, Consumers Hungry for Organic Beef
Organic beef producers, once distant outsiders in the $175 billion a year U.S. beef industry, are poised to grab a larger bite of the market this year. Sales of the specialty meat, from cattle that are not fed antibiotics, hormones or animal bi-products, are soaring, thanks to diet trends, the discovery of mad cow disease in Washington state last December and word of mouth. The surge has prompted many in the fledgling industry to boost production to meet growing demand from major U.S. grocers, such as Whole Foods Market Inc., which have been unable to obtain an adequate supply of organic beef to keep their shelves stocked....
Column: Where will we get our food? We take for granted that all we have to do is go to the grocery store or restaurant for food. We are spoiled. Anything we want to eat at any time is available and we tend to forget where the food actually comes from. Our bread and cereal comes from wheat, corn or grains. We eat fresh, frozen or canned fruits, vegetables and juices. Even pizza is a combination of grains, meats, vegetables. Some form of soybean is in many of our food items. Of course all dairy and meat items are produced on the land where the animals are fed grain and hay. The American public should understand that before conservation easements, wetlands, open space, green space, heritage preservation areas, parks, refuges, floodplains and all the other land preservation programs take over, we need to ask, "What will I eat when this land is no longer producing food?"....
Big Island cowgirl riding toward national finals Jaymie Loando has always been a natural rider, at ease in the saddle and unafraid. She is also comfortable in competition, emerging this year at age 15 at the top of the Hawai'i High School Rodeo Association. Now comes the real test, at the National High School Finals Rodeo next month in Gillette, Wyo. Loando's coach, teacher and aunt, Sabrina Matsumoto, remembers when Loando first began to compete as a rider in the keiki rodeo at age 3. It was a near-perfect fit....
Starr Country rancher goes from bullfighter to bull breeder Mexican matador Pepe Luis Vasquez left a lasting impression on Fred Renk. As a seminarian in Chihuahua, Mexico, in 1952, Renk attended a bullfight in which Vasquez valiantly fought a bull for nearly two hours at the Plaza de Toros Esperanza. As the fight drew to an end, Vasquez waved his muleta, or cape, with his left hand and aimed a sword with his right....
American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame Class of 2005 Four individuals and two horses will be inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame during the 2005 American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) Convention March 11-15 at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at Union Station in St. Louis, Mo. The American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame was established in 1975 to honor people and horses instrumental in the development of the breed and the AQHA. Induction into the Hall of Fame is one of the highest honors bestowed by AQHA. The six 2004 Hall of Fame inductees include:....
Summer heating up for rider Mortensen Dan Mortensen's summer of leisure has come to an abrupt end. For the next two months, the Billings cowboy is putting the pedal to the metal. During the winter rodeo season, Mortensen and his fiancée Darla Schierbaum - they plan to be married Oct. 29 in her hometown of Kansas City - took their time traveling from event to event. The ramble through the arenas paid off. Mortensen had one of his best winters ever, including consecutive saddle bronc victories at the Calgary winter rodeo and Austin, Texas....
Tight schedules leave cowboys little room for travel errors A clear difference between rodeo and mainstream sports is that rodeo competitors must strategically plan and budget their travel. Pro football and basketball players have no input in scheduling or paying their way to their games. That's taken care of by the corporate offices of the leagues and franchises. But in rodeo, even the sport's most gifted athletes have to account for their own travel expenses and plan their itineraries....