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Omaha Steaks CEO: Beef prices tied to historic herd lows, recovery years away
Nate Rempe, Omaha Steaks President and CEO, explains that soaring beef prices, up 13%, are due to a 72-year low in domestic cattle herds. He predicts meaningful herd building and price recovery won’t happen until 2028 or 2029
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
THE UNEXPECTED FORCE KEEPING BEEF PRICES HIGH AND WHY THE PRESSURE COULD LAST FOR YEARS
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
IN TEXAS CATTLE COUNTRY, ONE RANCHER WELCOMES TRUMP’S FOCUS ON DECADES OF THIN MARGINS
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
BEEF PRICES ARE CLOSE TO RECORD HIGHS — BUT AMERICANS AREN’T CUTTING BACK
The U.S. cattle herd has fallen to its smallest level in 75 years.(Jonne Roriz/Bloomberg/ /
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
For consumers waiting for cheaper beef, the path to relief starts with rebuilding America’s cattle herds, a process that could take years
