Drought, rising costs and beef import pressures squeeze Wyoming ranchers

Wyoming ranchers already contending with drought, rising costs and scarce land have faced uncertainty following President Trump's 90-day waiver of higher tariffs on some ground beef imports.

"This announcement came out, we had a 10% drop in the value of cattle overnight," Mark Eisele, who raises nearly 1,500 head of cattle outside of Cheyenne, Wyoming, told CBS News. "If that was in any other market, it would be earth-shattering. We're going to have to absorb that."

Cattle futures fell sharply following Mr. Trump's announcement on Aug. 21 that the U.S. would allow up to 300,000 metric tons of ground beef into the country for the next 90 days with "no out-of-quota tariff." That put a pause on higher tariffs, which are triggered when trade volume surpasses a certain quota, according to the World Trade Organization.

Cattle futures have since largely recovered, closing Friday about 2% lower than when Mr. Trump made his announcement. 

With U.S. beef prices at nearly $7 a pound, up from $2.93 a pound in 2021, the White House said that temporarily expanding imports would lower beef costs for consumers.   

"This deal will reduce prices for Americans while giving space for our Great American Beef Herd to grow again," the president said in announcing the action.

But cattle ranchers later spoke out out about the move, arguing the beef import plan would undercut their business and hamper their goal of rebuilding their shrinking cattle herds. 

Now, ranchers in Wyoming say they are struggling with the recent unforgiving economics of the cattle industry, pinched by drought and high costs. Some are even selling their herds. 

"It's been a year that I hope we never do it again," said Lander Nicodemus, owner of Torrington Livestock Markets, which auctions about 450,000 head of cattle each year. "Guys were forced to make some really tough decisions this year and sell cattle that they didn't want to."

After the plan was announced to waive tariffs on imported beef, which went into effect on Sept. 1, some Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures contracts reached eight-month lows, according to agricultural market reports, although the contracts later recovered some of the declines.

Shawn Harris, a Georgia rancher and a Democratic nominee for the state's 14th Congressional District, told CBS News last month that the plan could run some cattle ranchers out of business.

"Right now, we got crazy input costs when it comes to tariffs and diesel, fertilizer, everything," Harris said. "And now farmers are about to sell cattle, and we're going to lose money on this deal."

University of Wyoming agricultural economist Chris Bastian told CBS News that the tariff plan won't do much to lower prices for U.S. consumers, given that the amount of beef represents about 2% of what Americans consume. But it could hurt U.S. ranchers by discouraging them from rebuilding their herds, which could keep beef supplies in short supply, he said.

"If we continue down the road of importing beef, that's going to continue to create risk and uncertainty for producers," Bastian said. "We'll face continually tight supplies."

The issues facing American cattle ranchers could be long-lasting, experts say. 

"What are we going to sell next year, who will still be in business, is a really big concern," Nicodemus said. "And I think it should be a big concern for the American consumer. I think our nation's food security is what has made this nation great."