Nate Rempe, president and CEO of Omaha Steaks, explains that skyrocketing beef prices, up 13%, are due to a 72-year low in domestic beef herds. He predicts that herd building and a significant 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 dwindling cattle herd. U.S. ranchers are facing their smallest cattle herd in 75 years, a shortage that now extends from pastures to some of the country’s largest meat processors. Tyson Foods announced last week that it will close beef facilities in Illinois and Utah and seek the sale of another in Washington as it reshapes its beef business amid what the company called one of the most historic livestock shortages the country has ever experienced. Tyson said recent USDA data suggests 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 head of beef cattle and calves, the smallest herd since the early 1950s. That’s down from about 94.7 million head of cattle. and calves in 2019, a decrease of more than 8 million animals. Recovering that lost supply will take time, particularly after years of conditions that pushed ranchers to reduce their herds. Chief among them is persistent drought. “The biggest thing has been the drought,” Eric Belasco, head of the agricultural economics department at Montana State University, previously told Fox News Digital. ranchers without enough food or water to sustain their herds. Many have been forced to sell livestock 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 meat. 2024 to $10.49 per pound in July 2026, an increase of approximately 23%. Behind this pressure on prices is a crisis in the supply of livestock that, according to experts, has been brewing for years. “The biggest thing has been the drought,” Eric Belasco, head of the agricultural economics department at Montana State University, previously told Fox News Digital. has fallen to its lowest level in 75 years. (Jonne Roriz/Bloomberg/Getty Images/Getty Images) He said years of dry weather have depleted grasslands across the West and Plains, leaving ranchers without enough food or water to sustain their herds. Many have been forced to sell livestock early, including cows needed to produce the next generation of calves, making the road to recovery even longer. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP For consumers hoping for cheaper meat, the path to relief begins with rebuilding cattle herds, a process that could take years.
