Tyson Foods will close a major beef plant in Lexington, Nebraska, with about 3,200 employees in January after U.S. cattle supplies dropped to their lowest level in nearly 75 years, the meatpacker said today.
The closure in the heart of cattle-feeding country signaled that supplies will remain tight, forcing meatpackers to pay steep prices for cattle to process into steaks and hamburgers.
Beef prices have set records due to low supplies and strong demand, raising costs for consumers. President Donald Trump said last month that he was working to bring down prices.
Ranchers slashed their herds after a years-long drought burned up pasture lands and hiked feeding costs. Some have slowly started to rebuild their herds, though it takes at least two years to raise full-grown cattle.
Trump Tries to Lower Been Prices
Trump has sought to boost beef imports from countries such as Argentina to ease prices for U.S. consumers, angering American ranchers. On Thursday, he removed 40% tariffs he had imposed this summer on Brazilian food products that slowed imports of beef used to make hamburger meat.
Trump on Wednesday said, “The Cattle Ranchers, who I love, don’t understand that the only reason they are doing so well, for the first time in decades, is because I put Tariffs on cattle coming into the United States, including a 50% Tariff on Brazil.”
“If it weren’t for me, they would be doing just as they’ve done for the past 20 years — Terrible!” he claimed. “It would be nice if they would understand that, but they also have to get their prices down, because the consumer is a very big factor in my thinking, also!”
The association reposted Trump’s comments on Facebook, along with a reply.
“The reality is that ranchers’ success is driven by their own hard work,” it stated.
“America’s cattlemen and women operate in one of the most competitive marketplaces in the world. U.S. cattle producers are proud to provide the safest, highest-quality beef on earth. We simply ask that the government not undercut them by importing more Argentinian beef in order to manipulate prices.”
The group continued, adding, “Cattlemen and women cannot stand behind President Trump while he undercuts the future of family farmers and ranchers by importing Argentinian beef.”
“It is imperative that President Trump and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins let cattle markets work without interference,” the organization then concluded.
“If the administration is truly an ally of America’s cattle producers, we call on him to abandon this effort to manipulate markets and focus instead on completing the promised New World Screwworm facility in Texas; make additional investments that protect the domestic cattle herd from foreign animal diseases such as FMD; and address regulatory burdens, such as delisting of the gray wolf and addressing the scourge of black vultures.”
The Ranchers Are Disappearing: Some Blame the Packers
This cattle rancher in the video said the US is at the lowest number of ranchers in years, having lost 20,000 ranchers each year for the past five years.
According to the cattleman, there are about 600,000 ranchers left. The driver of this is the National Cattleman’s Beef Association which doesn’t represent ranchers and only exists for the packers. He says the packers don’t care about America or ranchers, and are very corrupt. They care only about their bottom line.
Farms and ranches are being destroyed and only the big guys get paid.
This rancher explains why Beef prices continue to rise… pic.twitter.com/4lyfn8l8kQ
— Financial Dystopia (@financedystop) November 16, 2025
It’s all about the government protecting the corporate profits of the Meat Industry Monopolies above all else. They have the lobbyists on their side. The ranchers and small farmers don’t have anyone but themselves and hard work. If the government were to actually support the ranchers and small farms, the corporate monopolies would be put out of business, and we’d… Read more »