Anyone who loves to throw a good burger or steak on the grill won’t be surprised ranchers are realizing record profits and consumers are paying premium prices at grocery stores.
The contrast between these trends stems is the first lesson taught at business schools everywhere: supply and demand, or vice versa. For the beef industry, including Wyoming ranchers, high demand and limited cattle supply allows them to get top dollar for their livestock, maximizing profits in the current market.
“It’s a supply and demand issue,” said state Rep. Bob Davis, R-Rock Springs, who is also a rancher by trade. “Beef is in high demand, but ranchers don’t have the inventory to fill that demand. That’s bringing prices up and determining the price that the processors are willing to pay the ranchers for the beef.”
At a recent National Cattle Convention held in Florida earlier this month, industry experts from CattleFax presented an optimistic outlook, projecting record prices across all classes of cattle for the year ahead.
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Drought Discourages Breeding
Several factors propel the bullish forecast, with a yearslong drought being the most significant. These dry spells in the Western and Midwestern regions of the U.S. have hindered efforts to expand herds and contributed to their continued decline, Davis said.
“We’ve been in a drought for at least four years,” he said. “And ranchers have had to sell down their inventory because of a lack of feed, lack of pasture, lack of water. We just can’t compete with mother nature.”
Severe drought causes cattle to stop breeding, resulting in a scarcity of calves for sale, which causes ranchers to miss out on crucial income.
“We had to sell half our herd over those four years. We started with 300, but when there’s a drought they don’t breed, so they’re dead weight and we don’t make money if they aren’t breeding cattle we can spell,” said Marilyn Wood, a southern Utah rancher.
To replenish the depleted inventory, the Wood family would need to spend about $1,500 per head at current prices, amounting to a significant $225,000, she added.
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However, realizing a return on that investment would require a two-year process. After acquiring the calves, a year is needed for it to mature and become eligible for breeding. Then it’s an additional year before the bred calves can be sold.
Rebuilding
Furthermore, achieving a full return on that investment depends on several factors, including the selling price of the beef compared to the initial purchase price. There is also uncertainty about whether all calves will successfully breed.
“Most ranchers don’t have $225,000 to go out and replace 150 head of cattle,” Wood said. “It takes a lot of years to rebuild that inventory.”
The most recent USDA inventory report reveals a historic low in cattle numbers, with a 2% decrease to 28 million head. This marks the lowest inventory level in 50 years, a trend expected to continue for three more years.
The low inventory also creates problems for ranchers needing to buy cattle to replenish their herds.
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“There isn’t enough cattle on the market for ranchers to just go out and buy more,” Wood said. “We have to build our inventory with the herds we already have, and that takes years.”
While 2023 brought favorable weather conditions overall for cattle ranchers, it wasn’t enough to declare an end to the drought, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 2023 drought report.
The Great Plains region, spanning from Montana and North Dakota to Texas, endured three years of unusually dry conditions. Above-average precipitation in 2023 brought some relief, especially in the Western areas. But the area still didn’t fully bounce back from the deficits of the previous three years.
Scientists have dubbed the drought ongoing in the Western region for more than two decades a “megadrought.”
The Southwest region also has experienced several years of drought, with 2023 providing some relief, but not sufficient to fully alleviate the area from drought conditions.
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Even if the drought lifts and ranchers can replenish their inventory, shoppers aren’t likely to find much relief at the grocery store in the near future.
Beef prices have been continuing to climb as ranchers don’t have enough supply for demand, like these prices at King Soopers in Cheyenne. (Greg Johnson, Cowboy State Daily)
Big Beef Business
Many ranchers say this is largely because of the influence of major packing conglomerates on the meat processing industry.
“These corporations are the biggest reason why we are seeing the prices we are seeing,” said Tyler Lindholm, fifth-generation rancher and state director for the free-market advocacy group Americans for Prosperity.
Referred to as the “big four,” these companies wield control over the market, dictating the price at which beef is sold, Lindholm said. Critics argue this dominance amplifies market instability and undermines the interests of consumers and ranchers.
“These four major packing corporations are the problem,” Lindholm said. “Yes, right now ranchers are making a profit. But it’s just a bubble and like bubbles, they pop. And I don’t expect these processing companies, who really are responsible for setting the price you pay at the store, to bring the price back down.”
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Lindholm also stressed the importance of legislative measures to address the overwhelming control exerted by these corporations to ensure fairness and stability in the market.
As part of this, Lindholm advocates for state laws that enable people to buy beef directly from local ranchers, bypassing the big companies. He said direct-market friendly laws pair consumers with fresher and potentially higher quality products, but also enable them to support local businesses and farmers.
Additionally, he would like to see more state-inspected packaging facilities. This way, ranchers wouldn’t have to rely on big corporations to process and package their beef, giving them more control over their products and ensuring a fairer marketplace.
BILLINGS— Activists on both sides praised and criticized the Wyoming Supreme Court’s ruling of abortion bans as unconstitutional on Tuesday in a 4-1 majority.
The ruling marks the end of a four-year legal battle in Wyoming since the state’s 2022 abortion ban went in place with the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which overturned abortion rights on a federal level.
Watch for the report:
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Activists react after Wyoming high court rules abortion ban unconstitutional
The ban was put on hold after Wyoming’s only abortion clinic, Wellspring Health Access in Casper, led a suit against the state.
“I was holding my breath as I opened it and read it. But soon that turned to being rather elated. We couldn’t be more pleased with the opinion,” said Julie Burkhart, the clinic’s president.
Vanessa Willardson
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Julie Burkhart
The decision comes after a years-long fight and setbacks, including an arsonist who set the clinic on fire in May of 2022.
“We were set to open that next month, but unfortunately that arson set us back by 11 months. We weren’t able to open that until 2023. It was quite devastating,” said Burkhart.
“I don’t think it’s moral, ethical, appropriate for anyone to tell another person what they can or cannot do with their own body,” she added.
Wellspring Health Access
Wellspring Health Access after 2022 fire
For a Montana advocacy group, it was a different story.
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“I was very disappointed,” said Amy Seymour, president of Yellowstone Valley Christians for Life, an anti-abortion advocacy group.
“These pre-born children who are unique, complete, living, individual human beings from the moment of their conception, they can be protected if Wyoming decides to have a constitutional amendment to that degree,” she added.
Vanessa Willardson
Amy Seymour
Wyoming state Speaker of the House Chip Neiman, a Republican, echoed Seymour’s sentiments with a written statement.
“Today’s decision is an abomination. Four unelected justices thwarted the will of the people to establish a ‘right’ to kill an innocent baby. Thanks to these justices, Wyoming has some of the most radical abortion laws in America. I will not stand for that, and will continue fighting for innocent unborn babies,” said Neiman.
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Wyoming Supreme Court strikes down abortion bans, keeping procedure legal
GLENROCK, Wyo. — A 55-year-old Wyoming man died Monday night after his vehicle went over a bridge rail and caught fire on Interstate 25 near Glenrock.
Gavin Stanek was traveling north in a Cadillac Escalade around 9:13 p.m. when the vehicle drifted into the median near milepost 156, according to a Wyoming Highway Patrol report. The vehicle continued through the median until it struck a bridge retaining wall.
The driver’s side of the Escalade scraped along the rail before the vehicle went over the edge toward the river. The Cadillac rolled toward the passenger side and landed on its roof on the river embankment, where it was engulfed in flames, the report states.
The Wyoming Highway Patrol identified driver fatigue or the driver falling asleep as a possible contributing factor in the crash. Road conditions were dry and the weather was clear at the time of the incident.
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This story contains preliminary information as provided by the Wyoming Highway Patrol via the Wyoming Department of Transportation Fatal Crash Summary map. The agency advises that information may be subject to change.
As a plaintiff in the 2022 lawsuit that kicked off years of legal sparring over Wyoming abortion rights, Dr. Giovannina Anthony had waited a long time for Tuesday’s Supreme Court decision on the state’s abortion bans.
“It has been a long road,” she said. One with ups and downs, drawbacks and delays. And even though the high court ruled against the state’s abortion bans, she’s not under the illusion that the fight for abortion access is over.
“But at least today, we can claim a victory and say, it was really worth it,” said Anthony, a Jackson obstetrician. “It was worth it to go four years and keep it up and keep raising money and keep the awareness going. I’m really proud of our team. I’m really proud of what we accomplished.”
In reading the Supreme Court’s decision siding with plaintiffs, Anthony said, “Clearly, this is a court that holds a lot of respect for our constitution.”
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That’s because much of the decision hinged on constitutional language.
Anthony and other plaintiffs argued that abortion is enshrined in the “right of health care access” in Article 1, Section 38 of the Wyoming Constitution. The clause states, “Each competent adult shall have the right to make his or her own health care decisions.”
The state’s attorneys, meanwhile, countered that abortion isn’t health care.
But in deciding what that language means in this case, “all five Wyoming Supreme Court justices agreed that the decision whether to terminate or continue a pregnancy is a woman’s own health care decision protected by Article 1, Section 38,” the court’s summary stated.
As abortion rights activists in Wyoming and beyond celebrated the decision, the anti-abortion camp decried it and called for legislative action.
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“This ruling is profoundly unfortunate and sadly serves to only prolong the ultimate proper resolution of this issue,” Gov. Mark Gordon said in a statement. While the ruling may settle a legal question for the time being, Gordon said, “it does not settle the moral one, nor does it reflect where many Wyoming citizens stand, including myself.”
Anti-abortion activists in the silent March for Life in Cheyenne in January 2020. (Nadav Soroker, Wyoming Tribune Eagle/Wyoming News Exchange)
Gordon asked the Attorney General’s office to file a petition for rehearing the decision, which it will file within 15 days.
The voters of Wyoming should settle the matter once and for all, Gordon argued. “A constitutional amendment taken to the people of Wyoming would trump any and all judicial decisions.”
He called on the Legislature to pass such an amendment during the upcoming session and deliver it to his desk. A constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate to appear on the ballot in the following general election.
Gordon may get his wish during the Legislature’s 2026 budget session, which convenes Feb. 9.
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State lawmakers are already preparing a bill to modify the Wyoming Constitution and clear a path for another attempted abortion ban. Speaker of the House Chip Neiman, a Republican from Hulett, said that he’s been workshopping language with Torrington Republican Sen. Cheri Steinmetz.
“I’ve got to run it by a lot of other people,” Neiman said.
Reps. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams and Chip Neiman listen during a 2023 hearing on their request to defend Wyoming’s abortion ban. (Brad Boner/Jackson Hole News&Guide/Pool)
Ideally, he added, a single constitutional amendment would be considered, although the legislative strategy is still up for discussion.
“We’ve got a little over a month before we have to be in session,” Neiman said. “That’ll give us time to kind of see which is maybe the best plan of action.”
A constitutional amendment would have to navigate the legislative process in a 20-day session geared toward passing Wyoming’s budget. Then, in the 2026 general election, more than half of Wyoming voters who cast a ballot would have to agree to the constitutional change.
Neiman struck an optimistic tone about an amendment’s prospects of passing the first hurdle during the session in Cheyenne.
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“I can’t speak for the other chamber,” he said, “but in my chamber I’ve got a lot of phone calls and a lot of texts from a lot of my legislators who are just beside themselves at what happened.”
Senate President Bo Biteman did not return a phone call before this story published.
Victorious
Chelsea’s Fund, an organization that helps pay for abortion services, was another of the plaintiffs that challenged Wyoming’s abortion bans. Executive Director Janean Forsyth said Tuesday’s decision affirms what her organization has long known: “that abortion is essential health care, and Wyoming women have a constitutional right and the freedom to make their own health care decisions, and that should be without government interference.”
Forsyth was flooded with messages and calls Tuesday, she said, especially from the community of reproductive rights organizations.
“I think that [the news is] a beacon of hope for, not only Wyoming communities and families, but also nationwide,” she said.
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Christine Lichtenfels was Chelsea’s Fund executive director when the original suit was filed and throughout much of the legal battle. Relief wasn’t quite the word to describe how she felt Tuesday, she said.
“In reading the decision, there is just a sense that, ‘Oh, there is reason in the world,” she said. “It makes me think that, yes, Wyoming is the Equality State. We can say that now without cringing.”
(Disclosure: Lichtenfels is currently working with WyoFile on an unrelated legal matter.)
The Wellspring Health Access clinic in Casper is pictured in December 2022, and shows signs of May 2022 arson, including boarded up windows. (Dustin Bleizeffer/WyoFile)
Wyoming’s only abortion clinic, Wellspring Health Access in Casper, was also a plaintiff in the lawsuit. Knowing the decision would directly impact the facility’s fate, Clinic President Julie Burkhart was nervous when she opened it. Reading quickly dispelled her fears, she said, as it dawned on her that the justices sided with the plaintiffs’ legal team.
“We are delighted,” she told WyoFile.
Many people questioned her 2021 decision to open an abortion clinic in such a conservative state, she said. The court decision solidifies an intuition she felt back then about Wyoming residents’ sense of what’s fair and right.
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Burkhart and colleagues expect future challenges to arise, however.
“While we celebrate today’s ruling, we know that anti-abortion politicians will continue their push to restrict access to health care in Wyoming with new, harmful proposals in the state legislature,” Burkart said in a statement. “Patients should not have to live in fear that their health care decisions will be suddenly upended at the whim of a judge or lawmaker.”
Across the state in Jackson, Dr. Anthony anticipates the Wyoming Freedom Caucus will attempt to pass laws that impose targeted restrictions against abortion providers — such as forcing patients to hear a fetal heartbeat or wait a certain time period before the procedure.
“Unfortunately, the fight’s not over,” Anthony said, “but this is a great moment for us.”
Heartache
Abortion opponents expressed sadness Tuesday and vehemently disagreed with the court’s opinion.
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State Rep. Rachel Rodriguez Williams was lead sponsor of one of the abortion bans. The Cody Republican and chair of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus did not respond to a request for comment, but posted about the decision on X.
“My heart aches for Wyoming today,” Rodriguez Williams posted. “Thanks to the decision of four unelected, unchecked attorneys, it’s open season in Wyoming for innocent, preborn babies. Make no mistake: courts can get things wrong, and they sure did get this wrong. I’ll never stop fighting to protect life.”
Anti-abortion billboards can be seen along some Wyoming highways. (Tennessee Watson/WyoFile)
Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray also protested the decision, which he called “outrageously wrong” and “a leftwing activist decision totally out of touch with the Wyoming Constitution.”
Natrona County anti-abortion activist Bob Brechtel, a former Wyoming House member, also expressed frustration with the courts, criticizing the nearly two-year-long wait for a decision and saying he was “ashamed” of the outcome from the high court.
In 2011, Brechtel co-sponsored the bill authorizing a later-successful constitutional amendment ballot measure that now protects individuals’ rights to make their own health care decisions. Born out of opposition to the Obama-era Affordable Care Act, what became Article 1, Section 38 caused some lawmakers to worry about potential unintended consequences.
Fifteen years later, one unintended consequence came to fruition. Reached Tuesday, Brechtel confirmed that he did not intend to protect women’s right to have an abortion in Wyoming.
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“There was nothing in the legislation about killing innocent human beings,” he said. “This whole thing has been completely regenerated into something that it was never intended to be.”
