The park was a working sheep and cattle ranch up until 1988 when it was bought by the state. Park lovers have gathered to discuss how it should be accessed and used for recreational purposes in the future. In fact there's still a herd of longhorns here, and every year city slickers can take part in a good old cattle drive! There are trails to mountain bike, hike and it has some of the most diverse horseback riding trails in the state. To cool off, visitors can take advantage of the park's...

The cattle he raises as part of his 5 Bar Beef brand are not the usual kind of cattle that become steaks one might find in the local supermarket. Fitzpatrick decided to raise his cattle in a way that is entirely grass and forage-fed, yet keeps the land in a sustainable natural state; sometimes even restoring the habitat to its native state. As part of his arrangement to care for the land while developers look at ways to build there, Fitzpatrick is allowed to raise cattle on the land. He...

Then there are a few items that the five-county region bought with the interests of its many farmers in mind: a portable livestock corral, a 30-foot lariat, electric cattle prods, hog slappers. When the state asked Winnebago, Boone, Ogle, DeKalb and Lee counties in 2004 to develop a wish list of items they would buy to protect themselves, the representative of the area s agricultural industry suggested items that would help quarantine dairy cows and livestock meant for human consumption if...

It's a sophisticated, developing market, said Lora Klenke, director of the state's agriculture market development bureau. Dairy products, vegetables, prepared foods and animal feed are some of the state's exports to South Korea. The Bush administration intends to submit the legislation to Congress for approval under its fast-track authority, which imposes timelines on Congress to vote and requires up-or-down votes without amendment. The Korean government began to relax restrictions last...

By the Yankton Press & Dakotan A ruling by a federal judge last week would seem to bring some needed discussion back to the matter of testing for bovine spongiform encephalapathy, aka mad cow disease. USDA officials fear that false positive tests done privately might create panic and harm the cattle industry. Department of Agriculture had resisted, wishing to reserve exclusivity on testing. The USDA which argues that it alone should manage BSE testing - tests only less than 1 percent of...