Wyoming

Beef From New Rancher-Owned Packing Plant In Nebraska Hits Walmart Shelves

Published

1 month ago

January 21, 2026

Beef From New Rancher-Owned Packing Plant In Nebraska Hits Walmart Shelves

The first thing Wyoming born and raised rancher Trey Wasserburger did when he heard that steaks from Sustainable Beef’s rancher-owned packing plant in Nebraska had hit store shelves was to go shopping for some of his own beef.

“I was there this morning,” he said. “And I bought New York strips, T-bones, and some ribeye tomahawks. So, it’s awesome. It’s fantastic.”

Wasserburger is a cofounder of Sustainable Beef, but he’s also a 2006 graduate of Campbell County High School and has family ties to the Bootheel 7 Ranch in Lusk, which celebrated 100 years of history in 2019.

He and his wife Dayna, who is a Nebraska native, bought a ranch near North Platte, Nebraska in 2017, where they now operate the TD Angus Ranch.

The ranch is known for the quality of its genetics and sells bulls across America — including a rather famous Angus bull named Doc Ryan, which sold for $525,000 in 2021.

Wasserburger said he believes some of the prime and choice cuts from Sustainable Beef should be showing up as of Monday in Wyoming Walmart stores as well.

Sustainable Beef sources a substantial portion of its beef from Wyoming cattle herds, which means some of that meat on Wyoming store shelves likely came from cattle herds in places like Torrington.

“We hope to be in all of (Walmart stores) fairly soon,” Wasserburger said.

That will just be a process of continuing to scale up their operation, which is focused on processing prime and choice cuts of beef for high-end dinner table menus.

Code m3199 marks packages from Sustainable Beef that have landed in Walmart stores. (Courtesy Photo)

Price Makers

It’s been a long and winding road from farm to table for American beef. Straightening up that path is part of the concept behind Sustainable Beef, in hopes it will help family ranchers hang onto more of the retail dollar from their beef.

Otherwise, their fear is that family ranches will become economically unfeasible and die out in America.

Ranchers have long faced challenging economics in the commodity markets, where they are the price takers, rather than the price makers.

That leaves them navigating things like drought and high production costs amid market volatility that sometimes means they’re not breaking even. Added to that difficulty are regulatory hurdles and labor shortages.

The challenges have pushed many ranchers into an early retirement, even as youths, meanwhile, are becoming less and less interested in trying to replace them, given high risk and ever higher entry costs.

Sustainable Beef just opened in May and is owned by a group of eight ranchers, including Wasserburger.

“We got together with some like-minded people, the Lapaseotes family, Bob Maxwell and some other cattle feeders who just believed in the same mission and goal to own their own destiny,” Wasserburger said.

“It takes about five years to complete the cycle, raise the calf all the way through to the food supply chain. And to just throw away the profit in the last 24 hours makes zero sense,” he said.

Pandemic Forced Their Hand

The ranch Wasserburger and his wife bought was the Rishel Ranch in the Sandhills of Nebraska.

Bill Rishel, the previous owner, had long been at the forefront of innovation in the cattle industry, and was among the first cattlemen to use carcass data and ultrasonography for breeding decisions.

The Wasserburgers planned to continue Rishel’s vision with the herd he had developed over several decades. But just three years into owning the ranch, the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Things quickly became a little Western for the couple.

“We were getting shut out,” Wasserburger recalled. “We were having trouble getting our cattle in the store.”

That was a dire situation for the couple, who had mortgage payments to meet and bills coming due.

“I was definitely in over my head financially,” Wasserburger said. “I had to make a decision, a tough one, to continue down the road of being a price taker or become a price maker.”

Grocery stores, meanwhile, were facing their own difficulties getting beef on empty store shelves. Ultimately, it was the broken supply chain that helped Wasserburger and his partners make their dream of owning their own packing plant a reality.

“Walmart needed a way to get that beef, and we needed a way to get our premium cattle for a great price,” Wasserburger said. “So, we just met in the middle. we had the same goal, and it’s just been a great marriage. It’s been a great relationship.”

A tomahawk steak that originated from Sustainable Beef's rancher owned meat processing plant in Nebraska. — A tomahawk steak that originated from Sustainable Beef’s rancher owned meat processing plant in Nebraska. (Courtesy Photo)

Changing North Platte’s Future

Sustainable Beef is among the first new packing plants to be built in America in a generation. It’s not a new idea. It’s been tried before, but the time has come for this model, Wasserburger believes, to help family farms and ranches become more sustainable.

In the meantime, the Sustainable Beef experiment has already boosted economics for North Platte, Nebraska, which made headlines in 2021 as the state’s fastest shrinking town.

Early economic indicators have put smiles on a lot of faces in the small town, among them North Platte Area Chamber & Development Corporation President and CEO Gary Person. He weighs in about the changes he’s seen in a documentary put out by First National Bank of Omaha, which is the company’s banker.

“We have broken records in retail sales,” Person said in the documentary. “We grew valuation substantially. We will have crossed a threshold of $1 billion worth of retail sales and expenditures. That is exactly double what it was five years ago.”

New restaurants and small businesses have opened. The community’s hospital underwent a major expansion and its recreation center upgraded as well.

“We’re at $1.2 billion impact for our community,” Wasserburger said. “We had to figure out what we do best. And instead of hauling things in, trying to manufacture it and hauling it back out, which doesn’t work. We’ve got to assemble, or in our case disassemble. What we make in this community is cattle and corn.”

Nebraska ranchers built a producer-owned beef plant that’s reviving North Platte’s shrinking economy. Wyoming ranchers like the idea but say it’s challenging to copy in the Cowboy State. (Sustainable Beef)

Wyoming Plant Not Out Of Question

Initially, Wasserburger did try to build his rancher-owned meat packing plant in Wyoming, and was working with Sen. Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, on that.

Ultimately though, Driskill told Cowboy State Daily in an interview last year that there just weren’t enough of the right elements to create the total package in the Cowboy State for such a large packing plant.

“When you start getting into these 1,000-plus cattle head a day plants, it’s really complicated,” Driskill said. “I kind of looked around Torrington, and they didn’t have the labor market.”

Cheyenne had a great location for a packing plant, with an opportunity zone and easy railway access. But North Platte just had a lot more of the necessary feedlot infrastructure.

Driskill said if he were to try again, he’d probably look at smaller operations.

“The truth is, Wyoming would probably be just as far ahead, rather than to have a plant like the one they have (in Nebraska) to have three or four plants that did 500 head a day,” Driskill said. “Then you could scatter them around the state.”

The diesel alone from shipping processed beef to markets would be a huge economic boost for any small rural town in Wyoming.

Wasserburger, meanwhile, said he’s not opposed to building more rancher-owned packing plants, if the experiment he’s started in Nebraska works out.

“I’d love to build more,” he said. “But we’ve got to get this one going first.”

Contact Renee Jean at renee@cowboystatedaily.com

Trey Wasserburger with his wife Dayna and their children. (Courtesy Photo)

Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.

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Wyoming

Meyer’s Late Score Lifts Wyoming past Air Force – SweetwaterNOW

Published

10 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Meyer’s Late Score Lifts Wyoming past Air Force – SweetwaterNOW

Naz Meyer. Mandatory Credit: Troy Babbitt-UW Media-Athletics

LARAMIE — Nasir Meyer converted a three-point play with 35 seconds remaining to give Wyoming Cowboys men’s basketball the lead for good, and Wyoming held Air Force Falcons men’s basketball scoreless over the final two minutes to secure a 66-62 victory Saturday night.

The win marked the 13th home victory of the season for Wyoming, which improved to 16-13 overall and 7-11 in conference play.

“Air Force deserves all the credit and let’s talk about a team that has every reason not to fight, but thats why they are Air Force and the cadets and I have a lot of respect for them,” Wyoming coach Sundance Wicks said. “They were not going to quit, and I didn’t drive that message home enough and hats off to Air Force because they deserved to win. We snuck away with a win. Adam Harakow showed when we need him and he was massive for us. Simm-Marten was made big plays and Naz was clutch for us late.”

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Wyoming shot 35% from the field and went 7 of 28 from 3-point range, making just two from beyond the arc in the second half. Air Force shot 49% overall and 44% from 3, hitting eight shots from long distance. The Cowboys made 13 of 16 free throws (81%) and scored 22 points off 15 Air Force turnovers while holding a 39-36 edge in rebounding.

Damarion Dennis led Wyoming with 16 points and three assists, going 7 of 8 from the free-throw line. Meyer finished with 14 points and tied a career best with eight rebounds. Adam Harakow added 14 points off the bench on 5-of-6 shooting, his first double-figure scoring game since the first meeting with Air Force. Simm-Marten Saadi had nine points in 13 minutes, and Kiani Saxon grabbed seven rebounds.

Air Force opened with back-to-back 3-pointers to take a 6-0 lead. Meyer scored Wyoming’s first basket, and Leland Walker added a 3-pointer to make it 8-5 with 16 minutes left in the first half.

Wyoming responded with a 9-0 run over nearly four minutes, with Saadi and Harakow each connecting from beyond the arc to give the Cowboys an 11-8 lead with under 14 minutes remaining. Air Force regained a 12-11 advantage as Wyoming went scoreless for more than two minutes.

Harakow’s second 3-pointer pushed the lead to 22-16 with nine minutes left in the half, and Wyoming used a 6-0 run while holding the Falcons without a field goal for more than four minutes to build a 28-18 lead with six minutes remaining. The Cowboys closed the half on a defensive stand, keeping Air Force scoreless for the final two minutes to take a 35-25 lead into the break. Wyoming scored 15 first-half points off turnovers.

The teams traded 3-pointers early in the second half, and Air Force cut the deficit to 40-31 with under 17 minutes left before trimming it to seven 90 seconds later. Walker answered with a 3-pointer to make it 43-33 with 15 minutes to go.

Air Force used a 9-0 run during a stretch in which Wyoming went more than 3 1/2 minutes without a point to pull within one with nine minutes left. The Falcons later tied the game at 51-51 with 5:30 remaining after forcing six straight missed shots.

A pair of free throws by Meyer and a basket from Saadi gave Wyoming a 57-53 lead with under four minutes to play. Air Force answered with three consecutive 3-pointers from Kam Sanders to take a 62-59 lead with two minutes left.

Meyer scored with 90 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to one. On the next trip, he converted an and-one to give Wyoming a 64-62 lead with 35 seconds left. The Cowboys added late free throws to close out the 66-62 win.

Sanders led Air Force with 16 points and nine rebounds, going 4 of 5 from 3-point range. Eli Robinson added 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

Wyoming closes its home schedule Tuesday against Nevada Wolf Pack men’s basketball at 8 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the Cowgirls.

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Wyoming

Wyoming High School Basketball 2A State Tournament 2026

Published

22 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Wyoming High School Basketball 2A State Tournament 2026

The 2-time defending champ Tongue River girls, along with both teams from Big Horn will represent Sheridan County in the small school version of March Madness.

Click here to see results from the regional tournaments.

2A Boys:

First Round:

Thursday, March 5th: (All games played at Casper College)

(#2E) Big Horn vs. (#3W) Shoshoni – Noon

(#1W) Thermopolis vs. (#4E) Sundance – 1:30pm

(#2W) Wyoming Indian vs. (#3E) Wright – 6:30pm

(#1E) Pine Bluffs vs. (#4W) Rocky Mountain – 8pm

Friday, March 6th: (All games played at Ford Wyoming Center)

Consolation Round:

Big Horn/Shoshoni loser vs. Thermopolis/Sundance loser – Noon LOSER OUT!

Wyoming Indian/Wright loser vs. Pine Bluffs/Rocky Mountain loser – 1:30pm LOSER OUT!

Semi-Finals:

Big Horn/Shoshoni winner vs. Thermopolis/Sundance winner – 6:30pm

Wyoming Indian/Wright winner vs. Pine Bluffs/Rocky Mountain winner – 8pm

Saturday, March 7th:

Friday Noon winner vs. Friday 1:30pm – Noon at Ford Wyoming Center Consolation Championship

Friday 6:30pm loser vs. Friday 8pm loser – 3pm at Natrona County High School 3rd Place

Friday 6:30pm winner vs. Friday 8pm winner – 7pm at Ford Wyoming Center Championship

2A Girls:

First Round:

Thursday, March 5th: (All games played at Casper College)

(#2W) Wyoming Indian vs. (#3E) Big Horn – 9am

(#1E) Sundance vs. (#4W) Shoshoni – 10:30am

(#2E) Tongue River vs. (#3W) Greybull – 3:30pm

(#1W) Thermopolis vs. (#4E) Pine Bluffs – 5pm

Friday, March 6th: (All games played at Ford Wyoming Center)

Consolation Round:

Wyoming Indian/Big Horn loser vs. Sundance/Shoshoni loser – 9am LOSER OUT!

Tongue River/Greybull loser vs. Thermopolis/Pine Bluffs loser – 10:30am LOSER OUT!

Semi-Finals:

Wyoming Indian/Big Horn winner vs. Sundance/Shoshoni winner – 3:30pm

Tongue River/Greybull loser vs. Thermopolis/Pine Bluffs loser – 5pm

Saturday, March 7th:

Friday 9am winner vs. Friday 10:30am winner – 9am at Ford Wyoming Center Consolation Championship

Friday 3:30pm loser vs. Friday 5pm loser – 10:30am at Ford Wyoming Center 3rd Place

Friday 3:30pm winner vs. Friday 5pm winner – 5:30pm at Ford Wyoming Center Championship

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Wyoming

Wyoming Crow Hunters Can Blast All They Want, But Nobody Eats The Birds

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Wyoming Crow Hunters Can Blast All They Want, But Nobody Eats The Birds

Mention of bird hunting might conjure up images of hunters and their dogs huddling in freezing duck blinds or pounding the brush in hopes of kicking up pheasants. But crow hunting is a thing in Wyoming too.

“It’s about the sport of it,” Dan Kinneman of Riverton told Cowboy State Daily.

He started crow hunting when he was 14 and is about to turn 85. He’s never tried cooking and eating crows or known anybody who has.

Instead, shooting crows is essentially nuisance bird control, as they’re known to wreak havoc on agricultural crops.

“All the ranchers will let you hunt crows. I’ve never been refused access to hunt crows. They all hate them,” he said.

In Wyoming, crow hunting season runs from Nov. 1 to Feb. 28. No license is required, and there’s no bag limit. Hunters can shoot all the crows they want to.

It’s a ball for hunting dogs too, Kinneman said.

“My yellow Labrador retriever, he doesn’t care whether it’s a crow or duck. In fact, he likes crow hunting more than duck hunting, because there’s more action,” he said.

Crow hunting requires skill, patience and a good set of decoys, an experienced Wyoming hunter said. The upside is, there’s no bag limit, hunters can blast all the crows they want. No one eats them, though.

Don’t Expect It To Be Easy

Kinneman said that in the days of his youth, crow hunting was as simple as driving around and “shooting them out of trees with rifles.”

However, as the number of people and buildings potentially in the paths of bullets grew, such practices fell out of favor. Crow hunting became more regulated.

And it evolved to resemble hunting other birds, such as waterfowl.

Meaning, hunters started setting out decoys, hiding in blinds and using calls to tempt crows to within shotgun range.

Kinneman is no stranger to hunting of all types. He’s taken numerous species of big game in Wyoming and elsewhere. And in July 2005, he shot a prairie dog near Rock Springs from well over a mile away.

He hit the prairie dog from 2,157 yards away. A mile is 1,760 yards.

But bird hunting has always been his favorite.

“It’s my life,” he said.

He has a huge collection of duck, goose and dove decoys. And two tubs full of crow decoys.

The uninitiated might think that going out and blasting crows would be a slam dunk.

That isn’t so, Kinneman said. He likes crow hunting for the challenge of it.

“Hunting crows is hard. They are a lot smarter than ducks and geese,” he said.

Pick Up After Yourself

Even though he doesn’t eat crows, Kinneman said he never just left them littering the ground where he shot them.

“I never let them lay out there. I always picked them up and disposed of the carcasses,” he said.

That’s good ethics and it shows respect for the ranchers, he said.

“Leaving them (dead crows) out there would be no different than just leaving all of your empty shotgun shells out there,” he said.

“You have to pick up after yourself, or the ranchers won’t let you back onto their land,” he added.

Slow Year

At his age, Kinneman isn’t sure how much longer he’ll be able to get out crow hunting. And this year has been a total bust.

“I love doing it. But this year there are no crows,” he said.

The Riverton area is along major crow migration routes.

Picking a good hunting spot is a matter of “finding a flyway” that the crows are on and then setting up a spread of decoys and a blind along the route.

But with an unusually warm winter, the crow flyways have been practically empty, he said.