The next time you question whether you can afford feeding your horse, take heart. The U.S. government is facing the same problem.

If you’ve been paying attention, you know this hasn’t been a banner year for public confidence in power of government. Some recent cases from the headlines: • The Internal Revenue Service was forced to account for its aggressive procedures when reviewing non-profit tax status applications by tea party and conservative political groups.

New reports from Iowa now say the Iowa company that sought a permit for horse slaughter is dropping the bid.

Fair season is in full swing across the country. But you're probably not going to find many prize-winning cattle that match Squirt.

In the wake of Tyson Foods decision not to allow cattle finished on the beta-agoist supplement zilpaterol, other meatpacking companies are taking a different approach.

More feedback on the decision by Tyson last week to withhold buying cattle that have finished on zilpaterol, better known as Zilmax. National Public Radio in this recent report, quotes an official who says the whole policy comes from Tyson wanting to cater to export markets. Zilpaterol and ractopamine (sold as Optaflexx) are the only beta agonists on the market. Fed as supplements into feedyard rations, beta agonists are fed toward the latter stages of a cattle's finishing period - typically the last 21 days. 

Some good news from this week's Livestock Publications Council awards. The Progressive Dairyman and its sister publication Progressive Cattleman took a 1-2 finish in the non-association publication awards, given at the Ag Media Summit in Buffalo, N.Y. this week.

Here's our story today on the decision by food processing giant Tyson Foods to suspend the purchase of cattle finished on the beta agonist Zilmax.

Another story highlighting cattle rustling, this one from Oklahoma, and the suspect is a former district judge. Craig Key, 48, of Chandler, Oklahoma, a former district judge for Lincoln County, was charged with 26 felony counts that included embezzlement and cattle theft, in a case brought before a multi-county grand jury by the Oklahoma attorney general.

The editor's beef blog returns - after a week's vacation on the Salmon River! And just in time for geek week, the first item up for order, is the non-beef burger.