Tyson Foods is planning to close or sell three of its beef processing and packaging facilities, as the company manages the impacts of an historic cattle shortage in the U.S.
According to an August 13 release, Tyson will soon shut down operations at beef facilities in Illinois and Utah, and will look to sell its plant in Washington state. Processing capacity from those facilities will then be absorbed by plants in Nebraska, Kansas and Texas, to "create a more competitive footprint amidst one of the most historic cattle shortages the country has ever experienced."
Between the three facilities in Utah, Illinois and Washington, and a separate beef plant in Nebraska that Tyson closed in January, the company has shed a third of its beef processing operations in 2026, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported in February that there were an estimated 86.2 million heads of cattle in the U.S. to start the year, representing the lowest total the country has seen in 75 years. In a February 2026 market report, the American Farm Bureau warned that cattle inventory isn't likely to expand again until at least 2028, as ranchers have been faced with rising costs, persistent drought conditions, and the resurgence of pests like the New World screwworm.
In a statement responding to Tyson's announcement, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller described the company's restructure as "a wake-up call for anyone who cares about the future of the American cattle industry."
"We are living through one of the most severe cattle shortages in our nation’s history, and now we’re seeing the consequences ripple through the entire beef supply chain," he said.
