Beef is big business in Wyoming

CASPER, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) – May is National Beef Month, and in Wyoming cattle is a billion dollar industry.

Agriculture is one of Wyoming’s leading industries. The state is home to 1.2 million head of cattle scattered across nearly 12,000 farms and ranches.

Casper rancher Kelly Burch explains, “Beef is big business. We raise cattle in this country for one reason, and that’s to feed the world.”

Burch says the Wild West is prime cattle country, explaining, “This is the most efficient way of utilizing Western range land. Cattle convert forage to edible protein for human consumption.”

Ranchers send their products all over the country, with Wyoming beef making its way onto dinner plates from coast to coast.

According to the USDA, cattle and calves are ranked as the largest livestock commodity raised in the state.

Though beef is “big business,” it’s much deeper than that for Burch.

He says, “It’s all grassroots. It all starts at family operations. It starts as a kid and you get addicted to it. I was in academia and taught school for 33 years because of my cow addiction. I was in love with cattle as a kid growing up on a Wyoming cattle ranch. You do something that you can support your cow habit and stay in the cattle business. I’m now retired from academia, and the state is willing to pay me to stay home and raise my cows.”

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