Tyson Foods has announced that it is to close two major beef processing facilities and to sell another amid "one of the most historic cattle shortages the country has ever experienced".

According to the US multinational meat processing corporation, this strategy is to create "a more competitive footprint".

The company will now be anchoring its beef business around its facilities in Dakota City, Nebraska; Holcomb, Kansas; and Amarillo, Texas.

It has identified these locations as "three strategically located beef facilities in the central United States".

In a recent quarterly financial report, the company said it anticipates an operating loss of $500-$650m in the beef segment of its business for fiscal year 2026.

This comes as data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows 2026 US cattle inventories are running at a historical low while prices remain highly elevated.

According to the USDA, there are 28.5 million beef cows in the US as of 1 July 2026 and 94.2 million head inventory, significantly down on levels 25 years ago, when it sat above 100 million.

Facility closures

Tyson Foods is winding down its operations at the Joslin beef facility in Illinois and its case-ready facility in Eagle Mountain, Utah.

The Eagle Mountain plant was opened in 2021 and cost Tyson Foods around $300 million to establish.

Despite this, five years later, the company is closing the facility with capacity from this location and the Illinois plant to be moved to "more strategically located facilities with ample capacity to grow".

Tyson Foods is also pursuing the sale of its Pasco, Washington, beef facility.

It has said that these changes to its network will allow it to maintain a similar level of cattle harvesting across a "more efficient and modern network".

According to Tyson Foods, the recent cattle inventory data from the USDA indicates that supply constraints are likely to persist.

The US company recognised the impact of these closures on staff members, saying it is committed to supporting team members through the closures.

Cattle shortages

USDA secretary Brooke Rollins commented on the cattle shortage earlier this year.

Rollins claimed that the US is facing a "herd size crisis".

She said: "As of 1 January of this year, we have about 86.2 million head of cattle and calves in America. That is the lowest since the 1950s.

"And this year we're looking to be slightly down again. In the past decade alone, we've lost over 17% of our cattle ranchers and more than 100,000 ranches across this country are no more," Brooke Rollins said.