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Relief from high beef prices may depend on something that can’t be fixed overnight: rebuilding America’s shrinking cattle herd.
America’s ranchers are facing their smallest cattle herd in 75 years, a shortage now rippling from pastures to some of the nation’s largest meatpackers.
Tyson Foods announced last week that it will close beef facilities in Illinois and Utah and pursue the sale of another in Washington as it reshapes its beef business amid what the company called one of the most historic cattle shortages the country has ever experienced. Tyson said recent USDA data suggest supply constraints are likely to persist.
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USDA data shows the U.S. entered 2026 with about 86.2 million cattle and calves, the smallest herd since the early 1950s. That’s down from roughly 94.7 million cattle and calves in 2019, a decline of more than 8 million animals.
Rebuilding that lost supply will take time, particularly after years of conditions that pushed ranchers to shrink their herds.
Chief among them is persistent drought.
“The biggest thing has been drought,” Eric Belasco, head of the agricultural economics department at Montana State University, previously told Fox News Digital.
He said years of dry weather have depleted grasslands across the West and Plains, leaving ranchers without enough feed or water to sustain their herds. Many have been forced to sell cattle early, including cows needed to produce the next generation of calves, making the road to recovery even longer.
The effects are reaching beyond ranches and into grocery stores, where consumers are paying more for beef.
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According to USDA data, the retail value of Choice beef rose from about $8.51 per pound in August 2024 to $10.49 per pound in July 2026, an increase of roughly 23%.
Behind that price pressure is a cattle supply crunch that experts say has been years in the making.
“The biggest thing has been drought,” Eric Belasco, head of the agricultural economics department at Montana State University, previously told Fox News Digital.
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He said years of dry weather have depleted grasslands across the West and Plains, leaving ranchers without enough feed or water to sustain their herds.
Many have been forced to sell cattle early, including cows needed to produce the next generation of calves, making the road to recovery even longer.
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For consumers waiting for cheaper beef, the path to relief starts with rebuilding America’s cattle herds, a process that could take years.
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