LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – According to the USDA’s latest cattle inventory report, beef cow inventory is at its lowest in Nebraska since 1960, with cattle herd size decreasing by 20% since 2019 due in large part to drought.

It’s a trend that has been seen across the country, with that same report showing a 13% decline in cattle inventory across the United States over the past seven years.

That reality was the inspiration behind a deal signed by President Trump last week to import an additional $800 million in beef from Argentina to the United States in 2026.

“We do import beef from a number of different countries, so the fact we’re going to import more is not new,” Mark McHargue, the president of the Nebraska Farm Bureau, said. “We just need to ensure there’s not anything relative to the trade conversation that would lessen our producers’ ability to make money.”

The per-pound price of beef has increased by nearly $3 since 2019, according the Federal Reserve.

The per pound price of beef has increased by nearly three dollars since 2019, according the Federal Reserve.

But McHargue says this plan will lower prices “artificially” and could work against the interests of some.

“We start bringing more product in from outside our borders and that’s going to be competitive to those that have been here in Nebraska growing beef, growing cattle for a long time,” he said. “They’ve been struggling to finally make a profit and then we bring in too much from some place else, lower their competitive advantage — that takes money out of their pockets.”

Sharing those concerns is Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer, who released a statement in response to the decision.

The Nebraska Cattlemen released a statement of their own in response.

10/11 also spoke with one cattle farmer in Malcolm, who did not want to be named but said he supports President Trump’s move to quadruple beef imports. He said cattle supply is currently so low that producing enough ground beef for consumers isn’t doable. In his opinion, imported meat will keep products available and reasonably priced until farmers like him are able to build their inventory back up.

ALSO WATCH: Night Beat with Jessica Blum

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The “whole time” is almost uncomfortably accurate. As he mapped each colony, Brust overlaid them on the habitats of the state’s glacial relict fish populations; in other words, those that have been present since the Ice Age glaciers have retreated.

Wherever he found the fish, he’d find the hopper.

“It has everything to do with the cold water system,” he said, “That water is keeping the environment cold enough for that fish to survive.”

But those environments and the grasshoppers therein could be in danger if the state endures milder and milder winters.

“You know, there is cause for concern, especially as climate change keeps warming things up,” he said. “These are already a cool weather species, they’ll probably become even more and more limited.”

Brust is also concerned that human intervention may cause some habitat destruction.

“We could see a change in land use, drainage of some habitat areas, and I’m especially concerned, here in Nebraska, about invasive grasses,” he added.

The northern spur-throat eats only a handful of specific native plants.

However, Brust said the good news is that the species isn’t extinct, or even declining yet, and he’s hoping that its resurgence and growth can prove to be a bellwether for the state’s cold-weather ecosystems.

“The number of these wetland sites that I surveyed thoroughly versus how many are out there in the Sandhills, and how extensive they are, I’d bet there’s probably five to 10 times more out there than I accounted for,” Brust said.

You may not be surprised, but winter in Nebraska and Iowa has been dry…again.

On average, we see about 16″ of snow up to early February. This winter, Omaha has received 6.5″. Not as bad as last year, but nowhere near our seasonal average. We are in a ‘snow drought’, but we are not alone.

The hotspots for snow this year have been to our east and south, leaving much of the western US high and dry. In fact, the Rocky Mountain states of Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana are experiencing some of the driest winters on record.

Why is this? Ridging in the atmosphere has kept winter storms away from the west and favored the east. Likewise, a series of rainstorms in early January melted much of the snowpack, which means less to melt come spring.

You can see this in these two images. The first shows the “snow water equivalent (SWE)” over the west, which is the water content in the snowpack. The numbers are in %. Anything below 100% is below average, anything above 100% is above average. This time last year, much of the West was seeing above-average snowpacks.

This year, nearly every station is well below average.

USDA

This is shown in the satellite imagery of the western US snowpack. Last year, the snowpack was quite healthy.

NASA Worldview

This year, it’s a much different story, with only the tallest mountains having any snow.

NASA Worldview

So, what does this mean for Nebraska and Iowa? In the short-term, disappointed skiiers, sledders, and kids, alongside happy drivers.

However, in the long term, the lack of moisture out west could be a serious concern.

Take the Platte River in Nebraska. The Platte gets a lot of its water from snow runoff in Colorado and Wyoming. If those states see little snow, there is less water that flows into the river. Since the reservoirs in Nebraska are already low, this could create some water issues come the summer.

Likewise, runoff into the Missouri River will be lower, with the Army Corps of Engineers predicting a lower runoff in 2026. This could impact river levels, which widens into impacted river travel & recreational activities.

While this sounds doom and gloom now, it’s only early February. We are just entering the snowiest time of the season for many of these places. All we need is a pattern change, and the snow issues out west could go away. Time will tell.